The present invention relates to carbon materials comprising carbon nanotubes, powders comprising carbon nanotubes and methods of making carbon nanotubes. In the methods of the present invention, the size and/or formation of floating catalyst particles is closely controlled. The resulting carbon nanotubes typically exhibit armchair chirality and typically have metallic properties. The carbon nanotubes produced by this method readily form bulk materials, which typically have a conductivity of at least 0.7?10.sup.6 Sm.sup.?1 in at least one direction. The invention has particular application to the manufacture of components such as electrical conductors. Suitable electrical conductors include wires (e.g. for electrical motors) and cables (e.g. for transmitting electrical power).

A material contains open pores in which the channels and pores that are internally coated with at least one layer of phosphorus-containing alumina. Such material is formed by infiltrating a porous material one or more times with a non-colloidal, low-viscosity liquid coating precursor, drying, and curing the coating precursor to form a phosphorus-containing alumina layer within pores of the material.

Graphene aerogels with high conductivity and surface areas including a method for making a graphene aerogel, including the following steps: (1) preparing a reaction mixture comprising a graphene oxide suspension and at least one catalyst; (2) curing the reaction mixture to produce a wet gel; (3) drying the wet gel to produce a dry gel; and (4) pyrolyzing the dry gel to produce a graphene aerogel. Applications include electrical energy storage including batteries and supercapacitors.

There is provided a random mat including carbon fibers and a matrix resin, wherein the carbon fibers in the random mat have an average fiber length in a range of 3 mm to 100 mm, a fiber areal weight of the carbon fibers is 25 to 10,000 g/m.sup.2, the carbon fibers include a specific carbon fiber bundles having a specific opening degree in a specific amount per the total carbon fibers, and the specific carbon fiber bundles with a thickness of 100 m or more are included in a ratio of less than 3% of the number of the total specific carbon fiber bundles.

A semiconductor film, including: an assembly of semiconductor quantum dots containing a metal atom; and at least one ligand that is coordinated to the semiconductor quantum dots and that is selected from a ligand represented by Formula (A), a ligand represented by Formula (B), and a ligand represented by Formula (C): ##STR00001##
wherein, in Formula (A), X.sup.1 represents SH, NH.sub.2, or OH; and each of A.sup.1 and B.sup.1 independently represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent having from 1 to 10 atoms; provided that when A.sup.1 and B.sup.1 are both hydrogen atoms, X.sup.1 represents SH or OH; in Formula (B), X.sup.2 represents SH, NH.sub.2, or OH; and each of A.sup.2 and B.sup.2 independently represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent having from 1 to 10 atoms; and in Formula (C), A.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent having from 1 to 10 atoms.

Flooring for covering floors made from vinyl having different colors or patterns on opposite sides of the flooring. Those are generally referred to as planks. This permits the installation of either side of the flooring face up so as to create different patterns and designs, based on which side is face up. The shape of the flooring can be in any desired shape, including square, rectangles, circles or semicircles. While the principal use of the invention is for flooring, the material can be used for walls and other surface coverings as well.

A material contains open pores in which the channels and pores that are internally coated with at least one layer of phosphorus-containing alumina. Such material is formed by infiltrating a porous material one or more times with a non-colloidal, low-viscosity liquid coating precursor, drying, and curing the coating precursor to form a phosphorus-containing alumina layer within pores of the material.

The present invention relates to carbon materials comprising carbon nanotubes, powders comprising carbon nanotubes and methods of making carbon nanotubes. In the methods of the present invention, the size and/or formation of floating catalyst particles is closely controlled. The resulting carbon nanotubes typically exhibit armchair chirality and typically have metallic properties. The carbon nanotubes produced by this method readily form bulk materials, which typically have a conductivity of at least 0.7?106 Sm1 in at least one direction. The invention has particular application to the manufacture of components such as electrical conductors. Suitable electrical conductors include wires (e.g. for electrical motors) and cables (e.g. for transmitting electrical power).

A plastics film with improved energy-shielding properties, suitable for application on a transparent or translucent surface, such as glass, and which is at least 50% transparent for visible light, further characterized in that it includes at least one plastic carrier layer with on top thereof as a functional layer a metallic layer consisting of antimony and/or arsenic together with indium and/or gallium, wherein the plastics film contains a total of indium (In), gallium (Ga), antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) together, which are present as an alloy, such as indium andmonide, gallium andmonide, indium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide and/or gallium arsenide, of at least 4.0 ppm by weight and at most 25.0 ppm by weight. A glass plate to which the film is attached, is described as are objects provided with the glass plate. Methods are described for the production of the film, the glass plate and the objects.

A thermal insulator with both excellent heat insulation and strength and a method of manufacturing the thermal insulator are provided. A thermal insulator according to the present invention includes metal oxide fine particles with an average particle diameter equal to or smaller than 50 nm and a reinforcing fiber, wherein the thermal insulator has a bridge structure between the metal oxide fine particles which is formed by elution of part of the metal oxide fine particles. A method of manufacturing a thermal insulator according to the present invention includes a curing step of curing a dry pressed compact including metal oxide fine particles with an average particle diameter equal to or smaller than 50 nm and a reinforcing fiber under a pressurized vapor saturated atmosphere at a temperature equal to or higher than 100 C. for four hours and a drying step of drying the cured dry pressed compact.