An air electrode including: a carbonaceous material having an electrolyte-philic ion-dissociative functional group coated on a surface thereof; a lithium salt; and an electrolyte, wherein the carbonaceous material has a specific surface area of about 500 m.sup.2/g or greater, and the electrolyte-philic ion-dissociative functional group is electrochemically stable in a voltage range of about 1.5 V to about 4.5 V with respect to lithium.

An air electrode including: a carbonaceous material having an electrolyte-philic ion-dissociative functional group coated on a surface thereof; a lithium salt; and an electrolyte, wherein the carbonaceous material has a specific surface area of about 500 m.sup.2/g or greater, and the electrolyte-philic ion-dissociative functional group is electrochemically stable in a voltage range of about 1.5 V to about 4.5 V with respect to lithium.

Surface treated modified carbon black particles and oil-based drilling fluids are described. The carbon blacks are incorporated into the oil-based drilling fluids to reduce the electrical resistivity of the oil-based drilling fluids. The surface treated carbon blacks can include a hydrophobic organic group and are readily dispersible in oil-based drilling fluids.

Surface treated modified carbon black particles and oil-based drilling fluids are described. The carbon blacks are incorporated into the oil-based drilling fluids to reduce the electrical resistivity of the oil-based drilling fluids. The surface treated carbon blacks can include a hydrophobic organic group and are readily dispersible in oil-based drilling fluids.

A self-assembly coating material including carbon particles and polymer shells is provided. The polymer shells respectively cover and are bonded to the carbon particles, wherein each polymer shell has both a first functional group for adsorbing on a surface of a substrate and a second functional group for self cross-linking. The first functional groups include thiol groups. The second functional groups include epoxy groups or carboxylic groups. The self-assembly coating material can be applied to a metal substrate to form a heat dissipation layer.

A hybrid carbon black is provided, which includes a carbon black core and a polymer film wrapping an entire surface of the carbon black core. The polymer film includes a network of a plurality of polymer main chains crosslinked each other, and a plurality of dispersion-side chains bonded to the polymer main chains. The dispersion-side chains come from an acrylate monomer with a chemical structure of:

##STR00001##

wherein when n is 4 to 7, R.sup.1 is H or CH.sub.3, and when n is 8 to 14, R.sup.1 is CH.sub.3.

A process for preparing a carbon species partially or completely covered with silica, including: bringing the carbon species into contact, in an aqueous medium, with one or more cationic surfactants, adjusting the pH of the reaction medium of the suspension using an alkaline agent to a pH that varies from 8 to 10, adding one or more alkali metal silicates to the reaction medium obtained, while maintaining the pH of the reaction medium between 8 and 10.

A process for preparing a carbon species partially or completely covered with silica, including: bringing the carbon species into contact, in an aqueous medium, with one or more cationic surfactants, adjusting the pH of the reaction medium of the suspension using an alkaline agent to a pH that varies from 8 to 10, adding one or more alkali metal silicates to the reaction medium obtained, while maintaining the pH of the reaction medium between 8 and 10.

The invention provides an aqueous ink containing a coloring material, wherein the coloring material is a self-dispersible pigment in which a functional group containing another atomic group and an anionic group such as a carboxylic acid group, a sulfonic acid group, a phosphoric acid group or a phosphonic acid group are bonded to a particle surface of a pigment such as carbon black or an organic pigment, and a standard deviation of an introduced amount of the functional group is 0.0380 or less.

The invention provides an aqueous ink containing a coloring material, wherein the coloring material is a self-dispersible pigment in which a functional group containing another atomic group and an anionic group such as a carboxylic acid group, a sulfonic acid group, a phosphoric acid group or a phosphonic acid group are bonded to a particle surface of a pigment such as carbon black or an organic pigment, and a standard deviation of an introduced amount of the functional group is 0.0380 or less.