A composite material includes a first component and a second component, each surrounded by a thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material is joined in a material bond to each of the first component and the second component.

A technique allowing a portion of carbon fiber tow to maintain a rectangular cross sectional shape or to maintain an imparted desired shape, such as a wider shape with a rectangular cross-sectional profile, through a textile loom is disclosed herein.

A carbon fiber precursor fiber bundle which permits easy bundling of a plurality of small tows into one bundle, is provided with a dividing capability to divide into the original small tows spontaneously at the time of firing, and is suitable for obtaining a carbon fiber that is excellent in productivity and quality. A carbon fiber precursor fiber bundle that has a degree of intermingle of 1 m.sup.1 or less between small tows, consists of substantially straight fibers without imparted crimp, a tow of which straight fibers has a moisture content of less than 10% by mass when housed in a container, and has a widthwise dividing capability to maintain a form of a single aggregate of tows when housed in a container, taken out from the container and guided into a firing step, and to divide into a plurality of small tows in the firing step by the tension generated in the firing step.

The present invention relates to a continuous, multicellular, hollow carbon fiber wherein the fiber structure includes a substantially hollow fiber and multiple internal walls defining multiple integral internal hollow fibers such that the fiber structure comprises a honeycomb-like cross section.

A carbon fiber bundle from which a carbon fiber composite material having high tensile strength can be obtained has the following configuration. Specifically, the carbon fiber bundle has a strand elastic modulus of 265-300 GPa, strand strength of at least 6.0 GPa, and knot strength of at least 820 N/mm.sup.2, and includes at least 30,000 filaments.

A technique allowing a portion of carbon fiber tow to maintain a rectangular cross sectional shape or to maintain an imparted desired shape, such as a wider shape with a rectangular cross-sectional profile, through a textile loom is disclosed herein.

Provided are organic metal halide crystals having a 1D nanotube structure. The metal halide crystals may have a unit cell that includes two or more face-sharing metal halide dimers. The metal halide crystals also may include organic cations. Methods of forming metal halide crystals having a 1D nanotube structure also are provided.

There is provided a method of making a fiber having improved resistance to microfracture formation at a fiber-matrix interface. The method includes mixing a plurality of nanostructures and one or more first polymers in a first solvent to form an inner-volume portion mixture, mixing one or more second polymers in a second solvent to form an outer-volume portion mixture, spinning the inner-volume portion mixture and the outer-volume portion mixture to form a precursor fiber, heating the precursor fiber to oxidize the precursor fiber and to change a molecular-bond structure of the precursor fiber, and obtaining a fiber. The fiber has an inner-volume portion with a first outer diameter, the nanostructures, and with the one or more first polymers, and has an outer-volume portion with a second outer diameter and the one or more second polymers, the outer-volume portion being in contact with and completely encompassing the inner-volume portion.

The invention concerns ionic compounds in which the anionic load has been delocalized. A compound disclosed by the invention is comprised of an amide or one of its salts, including an anionic portion combined with at least one cationic portion M.sup.+m in sufficient numbers to ensure overall electronic neutrality; the compound is further comprised of M as a hydroxonium, a nitrosonium NO.sup.+, an ammonium NH.sub.4.sup.+, a metallic cation with the valence m, an organic cation with the valence m, or an organometallic cation with the valence m. The anionic portion matches the formula R.sub.FSO.sub.xN.sup.?Z, where R.sub.F is a perflourinated group, x is 1 or 3, and Z is an electroattractive substituent. The compounds can be used notably for ionic conducting materials, electronic conducting materials, colorants and the catalysis of various chemical reactions.

Provided is a carbon fiber bundle for obtaining a fiber-reinforced resin having high mechanical characteristics. A carbon fiber bundle formed of single carbon fibers, each of which has no uneven surface structure of 0.6 m or more in length extending in the longitudinal direction of the single fiber; which has an uneven structure having a difference in height (Rpv) of 5 to 25 nm between the highest portion and the lowest portion of the surface of the single fiber and having an average roughness Ra of 2 to 6 nm; and which has a ratio of the major axis to the minor axis (major axis/minor axis) of a cross-section of the single fiber of 1.00 to 1.01, wherein a mass of the single fiber per unit length falls within the range of 0.030 to 0.042 mg/m; a strand strength is 5900 MPa or more; a strand elastic modulus measured by the ASTM method is 250 to 380 GPa; and a knot tenacity is 900 N/mm.sup.2 or more.