A composite cathode active material for a lithium battery, the composite cathode active material including: a lithium composite oxide; and a coating layer disposed on at least a portion of the lithium composite oxide and including a composite including ZrP.sub.2O.sub.7 and LiZr.sub.2(PO.sub.4).sub.3, wherein the composite including ZrP.sub.2O.sub.7 and LiZr.sub.2(PO.sub.4).sub.3 is a reaction product of an acid treated a zirconium precursor, a phosphorus precursor, and the lithium composite oxide.

A battery comprising an acidified metal oxide (“AMO”) material, preferably in monodisperse nanoparticulate form 20 nm or less in size, having a pH<7 when suspended in a 5 wt % aqueous solution and a Hammett function H.sub.0>−12, at least on its surface.

A dispersed iron oxide magnetic powder slurry, in which the average secondary particle diameter of ε-type iron oxide measured with a dynamic light scattering particle size distribution analyzer is 65 nm or less, and which has good dispersibility, is obtained by adding a quaternary ammonium salt serving as a first dispersant and an alkali to a slurry containing ε-type iron oxide particles to bring the pH at 25° C. to 11 or higher, and thereafter adding an organic compound, which is an organic acid serving as a second dispersant and having two or more carboxy groups in the molecule, and in which one type or two types of a hydroxy group and an amino group are bound to carbon that does not constitute a carboxy group other than the carboxy groups to bring the pH at 25° C. of the slurry to 4 or higher and lower than 11.

A positive-electrode material for a lithium ion secondary battery contains a lithium complex compound that is represented by the formula: Li.sub.1+aNi.sub.bMn.sub.cCo.sub.dTi.sub.eM.sub.fO.sub.2+α, and has an atomic ratio Ti.sup.3+/Ti.sup.4+ between Ti.sup.3+ and Ti.sup.4+, as determined through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, of greater than or equal to 1.5 and less than or equal to 20. In the formula, M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Mg, Al, Zr, Mo, and Nb, and a, b, c, d, e, f, and α are numbers satisfying −0.1≦a≦0.2, 0.7<b≦0.9, 0≦c<0.3, 0≦d<0.3, 0<e≦0.25, 0≦f<0.3, b+c+d+e+f=1, and −0.2≦α≦0.2.

High specific capacity lithium rich lithium metal oxide materials are coated with inorganic compositions, such as metal fluorides, to improve the performance of the materials as a positive electrode active material. The resulting coated material can exhibit an increased specific capacity, and the material can also exhibit improved cycling. The materials can be formed while maintaining a desired relatively high average voltage such that the materials are suitable for the formation of commercial batteries. Suitable processes are described for the synthesis of the desired coated compositions that can be adapted for commercial production.

The object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust gas purifying catalyst that can achieve high purification performance while suppressing H.sub.2S emissions. The object is solved by an exhaust gas purifying catalyst in which the top layer of a catalyst coating layer comprises a ceria-zirconia composite oxide having a pyrochlore-type ordered array structure, in which the ceria-zirconia composite oxide contains at least one additional element selected from the group consisting of praseodymium, lanthanum, and yttrium at 0.5 to 5.0 mol % in relation to the total cation amount, and the molar ratio of (cerium+additional element):(zirconium) is within the range from 43:57 to 48:52.

A lithium-cobalt-based composite oxide used for a positive electrode active material of an electrochemical device, wherein the lithium-cobalt-based composite oxide has elutable fluoride ions, the elutable fluoride ions being eluted to an eluate when the lithium-cobalt-based composite oxide is dispersed to ultrapure water, in a mass ratio of 500 ppm or more and 15000 ppm or less in comparison with the lithium-cobalt-based composite oxide, and the lithium-cobalt-based composite oxide has a composition shown by the following general formula (1): Li.sub.1-xCo.sub.1-zM.sub.zO.sub.2-aF.sub.a (−0.1≦x<1, 0≦z<1, 0≦a<2) . . . (1) (wherein, M represents one or more kinds of metal element selected from the group of Mn, Ni, Fe, V, Cr, Al, Nb, Ti, Cu, and Zn).

Provided is a method for producing a positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, including: a water-washing step of mixing, with water, Li—Ni composite oxide particles represented by the formula: Li.sub.zNi.sub.1-x-yCo.sub.xM.sub.yO.sub.2 and composed of primary particles and secondary particles formed by aggregation of the primary particles to water-wash it, and performing solid-liquid separation to obtain a washed cake; a mixing step of mixing a W compound powder free from Li with the washed cake to obtain a W-containing mixture; and a heat treatment step of heating the W-containing mixture, the heat treatment step including: a first heat treatment step of heating the W-containing mixture to disperse W on the surface of the primary particles; and subsequently, a second heat treatment step of heating it at a higher temperature than in the first heat treatment step to form a lithium tungstate compound on the surface of the primary particles.

The present application provides vanadium dioxide doped with Ti, or vanadium dioxide further doped with other atoms selected from the group of W, Ta, Mo, and Nb. The vanadium dioxide of the present application is excellent in moisture resistance and in which deterioration of endothermic characteristics due to moisture is suppressed.

The present invention relates to a calcined shaped alumina and to a method of preparing a calcined shaped alumina. The method comprises that the alumina in the alumina suspension is hydrothermally aged to have a specific crystallite size. This in turn produces a highly stable alumina in the form of a calcined shaped alumina particularly at temperatures of 1200° C. and above.