A nanocarbon material includes agglomerate nanostructures made of aggregates of: (i) graphene nanostructures having at least partially crumpled morphology, and (ii) clusters of at least one carbon material. The carbon material may have a graphitic structure. At least a portion of the graphitic structure may be at least partially hollow and have at least one winged protrusion. Optionally, the nanocarbon material may be part of a composition that includes a dispersion medium or a cementitious material. Methods of making such a composition are also disclosed.

A component for a plasma processing apparatus, and a plasma processing apparatus are highly resistant to plasma and are highly durable. The component includes a substrate containing a first element that is a metal element or a semimetal element, and a film located on the substrate and containing yttrium oxide as a main constituent. The film contains yttrium oxide crystal grains oriented with a deviation angle of ±10° from a {111} direction of a crystal lattice plane of yttrium oxide. The yttrium oxide crystal grains oriented with the deviation angle have an area ratio of 45% or greater.

The present invention provides a titanium compound sol solution capable of enabling manufacturing of a film high in transparency and having an excellent photocatalyst effect by low-temperature processing, and a coating film using the same. The present invention is a titanium compound sol solution containing a particulate incomplete condensate obtained by condensing an alkoxy titanium, an α-substituted β-diketone, and a solvent.

A method is described to make a metal-containing non-amorphous hard-carbon composite material that is synthesized from furan-ring containing compounds. The metals described in the process include lithium and transition metals, including transition metal oxides like lithium titanates. The non-amorphous hard-carbon component of the metal-containing non-amorphous hard-carbon composite material is characterized by a d.sub.002 peak—in the X-ray diffraction patterns—that corresponds to an interlayer spacing of >3.6 Å, along with a prominent D-band peak in the Raman spectra. These metal-containing hard-carbon composites are used for constructing electrodes for Li-ion batteries and Li-ion capacitors.

activated carbon and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The activated carbon comprises a carbon aggregate containing a plurality of linear carbons and has a specific surface area of 350 m.sup.2/g or more, and the method comprises pretreating a carbon aggregate precursor by ball milling and reacting the pretreated carbon aggregate precursor with CO.sub.2.

To provide a metal-based structure or nanoparticles whose homogeneity is not deteriorated and whose sticking formation is easy, and a production method thereof with a high safety. A metal-based structure comprises a hydrogen compound, cluster, or an aggregate thereof, represented by the general formula: M.sub.mH. The M is a metal-based atom. The m is an integer of 3 or more and 300 or less. H is a hydrogen atom.

In one embodiment, a composition of matter includes a crystalline porous structure having a density in a range from about 30 to about 50 mg/cm.sup.3. In another embodiment, a kit includes an amorphous, porous material, an inert pressure medium, a heating source, and a sample chamber configured to withstand an applied pressure of at least about 20 GPa. Other aspects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, when taken in conjunction with the drawings, illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention.

A silicon-carbon composite powder having Si and C distributed throughout each particle is provided. The weight ratio of carbon to silicon on the surface of a particle (C/Si).sub.surface is greater than the weight ratio of carbon to silicon within the total particle (C/Si).sub.total. The silicon-carbon composite powder is produced by simultaneously feeding into a reactor a gaseous stream of a SiH.sub.4, Si.sub.2H.sub.6, Si.sub.3H.sub.8 and/or organosilane and a gaseous stream of at least one hydrocarbon of ethylene, ethane, propane and acetylene and reacting the streams using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

An aqueous solution containing ions of one or more rare earth elements selected from the group consisting of Y, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu, hydrogen peroxide, urea, and polyvinylpyrrolidone is heated at a temperature of 80° C. or higher and equal to or lower than a boiling point of the aqueous solution to produce particles of a rare earth compound under a reaction between a hydrolysis product of urea and the ions of the rare earth elements. Furthermore, the particles of the rare earth compound are solid-liquid separated from the aqueous solution, and the obtained solid content is baked at a temperature of 600° C. or higher in an atmosphere containing oxygen to produce rare earth oxide particles.

A negative electrode active material which includes artificial graphite particles, and sulfur distributed in the artificial graphite particles, wherein the sulfur is present in an amount of 15 ppm to 40 ppm. With respect to a negative electrode and a secondary battery which include the negative electrode active material, output characteristics and capacity characteristics may be simultaneously improved, and initial efficiency may be improved.