The disclosure relates to porous Co.sub.3O.sub.4 nanoparticles which include flocculated amorphous primary nanoparticles, with air pores formed between the amorphous primary nanoparticles. The porous Co.sub.3O.sub.4 nanoparticles, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, may be in the form of flocculated amorphous primary nanoparticles of 1 nm or less, have a 400 times larger specific surface area than the conventional Co.sub.3O.sub.4 particles, and address the issue with the expansion of Co.sub.3O.sub.4 lattices which may arise when the battery is charged or discharged, thereby providing more reliability when applied to batteries.

A process of forming a coated cathode active material include preparing a cathode material precursor by co-precipitation; coating the cathode material precursor with an electrochemically inert coating material precursor by precipitation to form a coated cathode material precursor; lithiating the coated cathode material precursor with a lithium source material to form a lithiated coated cathode material precursor; and sintering the lithiated coated cathode material precursor to form a cathode active material coated with an electrochemically inert material.

An anode active material for a sodium ion secondary battery, a sodium ion secondary battery including an anode active material, and an electric device including the sodium ion secondary battery are disclosed. The anode active material for a sodium ion secondary battery includes a cobalt tin spinel oxide represented by Co.sub.2.4Sn.sub.0.6O.sub.4. The sodium ion secondary battery includes an anode made of an anode active material composed of a cobalt tin spinel oxide represented by Chemical Formula 1 below:
Co.sub.2+xSn.sub.1-xO.sub.4,Chemical Formula 1 where x is a real number satisfying 0x0.9; an electrolyte; and a cathode. The sodium ion secondary battery has high capacity characteristics. The electric device including the sodium ion secondary battery includes an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and an electric power storage system.

An anode active material for a sodium ion secondary battery, a sodium ion secondary battery including an anode active material, and an electric device including the sodium ion secondary battery are disclosed. The anode active material for a sodium ion secondary battery includes a cobalt tin spinel oxide represented by Co.sub.2.4Sn.sub.0.6O.sub.4. The sodium ion secondary battery includes an anode made of an anode active material composed of a cobalt tin spinel oxide represented by Chemical Formula 1 below:
Co.sub.2+xSn.sub.1-xO.sub.4,Chemical Formula 1 where x is a real number satisfying 0x0.9; an electrolyte; and a cathode. The sodium ion secondary battery has high capacity characteristics. The electric device including the sodium ion secondary battery includes an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and an electric power storage system.

A method for processing lithium ion battery scrap according to this invention includes a leaching step of leaching lithium ion battery scrap to obtain a leached solution; an aluminum removal step of neutralizing the leached solution to a pH range of from 4.0 to 6.0, then performing solid-liquid separation and removing aluminum in the leached solution to obtain a first separated solution; and an iron removal step of adding an oxidizing agent to the first separated solution and adjusting the pH in a range of from 3.0 to 5.0, then performing solid-liquid separation and removing iron in the first separated solution to obtain a second separated solution.

A method for processing lithium ion battery scrap according to this invention includes a leaching step of leaching lithium ion battery scrap to obtain a leached solution; an aluminum removal step of neutralizing the leached solution to a pH range of from 4.0 to 6.0, then performing solid-liquid separation and removing aluminum in the leached solution to obtain a first separated solution; and an iron removal step of adding an oxidizing agent to the first separated solution and adjusting the pH in a range of from 3.0 to 5.0, then performing solid-liquid separation and removing iron in the first separated solution to obtain a second separated solution.

A method for enhancing the efficiency of a liquid fuel is described. The method involves the addition of cobalt hydroxystannate nanoparticles to the liquid fuel to produce an enhanced liquid fuel. The cobalt hydroxystannate nanoparticles may be present at a concentration of 50-200 ppm, and may increase the calorific value of the fuel by a factor of 25-52 times.

A method for enhancing the efficiency of a liquid fuel is described. The method involves the addition of cobalt hydroxystannate nanoparticles to the liquid fuel to produce an enhanced liquid fuel. The cobalt hydroxystannate nanoparticles may be present at a concentration of 50-200 ppm, and may increase the calorific value of the fuel by a factor of 25-52 times.

Metal-hydroxide-organic framework compositions, methods of making metal-hydroxide-organic framework compositions and methods of using metal-hydroxide-organic framework compositions are described.

Processes for the generation of thin inorganic films on substrates, in particular atomic layer deposition processes. In particular, a process of bringing a compound of general formula (I) into the gaseous or aerosol state
L.sub.n - - - M - - - X.sub.m(I)
and depositing the compound of general formula (I) from the gaseous or aerosol state onto a solid substrate, wherein
M is a metal,
L is a ligand which coordinates to M and contains at least one phosphorus-carbon multiple bond, wherein L contains a phosphorus-containing heterocyclic ring or a phosphorus-carbon triple bond,
X is a ligand which coordinates to M,
n is 1 to 5, and
m is 0 to 5.