A method for manufacturing a positive active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery having both thermal stability and charge-discharge capacity at a high level as well as excellent cycle characteristics. The method for manufacturing a positive active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes: a step of adding a niobium salt solution and an acid simultaneously to a slurry of a nickel-containing hydroxide, and controlling the pH of the slurry at between 7 and 11 on a 25° C. basis to obtain a nickel-containing hydroxide coated with a niobium compound; a step of mixing the nickel-containing hydroxide coated with the niobium compound with a lithium compound to obtain a lithium mixture; and a step of firing the lithium mixture in an oxidizing atmosphere at 700° C. to 830° C. to obtain a lithium-transition metal composite oxide.

A method for producing a colloidal alcoholic suspension of fluorine-doped SnO.sub.2 particles. It also pertains to the colloidal suspension thus obtained and to its uses, especially in the manufacture of an antistatic coating for an optical article, such as an ophthalmic lens.

A positive electrode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery achieves high output characteristics and battery capacity, and allows a high electrode density to be achieved in the case of using the material for a positive electrode of a battery; and a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery uses the positive electrode active material, thereby achieving a high output with a high capacity. Prepared is a nickel composite hydroxide including plate-shaped secondary particles aggregated with overlaps between plate surfaces of multiple plate-shaped primary particles, where shapes projected from directions perpendicular to the plate surfaces of the plate-shaped primary particles are any plane projection shape of spherical, elliptical, oblong, and massive shapes, and the secondary particles have an aspect ratio of 3 to 20, and a volume average particle size (Mv) of 4 μm to 20 μm measured by a laser diffraction scattering method.

Performance improvement and cost reduction in a positive electrode active material for a lithium ion battery. A method of manufacturing a lithium nickel composite oxide including the following Steps 1 to 7: (Step 1) a dissolving step; (Step 2) a precipitation step; (Step 3) a filtering step; (Step 4) a drying step; (Step 5) a mixing step of mixing aluminum hydroxide and lithium carbonate with the precursor powder, which is obtained in Step 4, to obtain a mixture; (Step 6) a high-temperature firing step of firing the mixture, which is obtained in Step 5, at a high temperature of higher than 790° C. to obtain a fired product; and (Step 7) a low-temperature firing step of firing the fired product, which has undergone Step 6, at a low temperature of lower than 790° C.

A magnetoelectric composition of boron and chromia is provided. The boron and chromia alloy can contain boron doping of 1%-10% in place of the oxygen in the chromia. The boron-doped chromia exhibits an increased critical temperature while maintaining magnetoelectric characteristics. The composition can be fabricated by depositing chromia in the presence of borane. The boron substitutes oxygen in the chromia, enhancing the exchange energy and thereby increasing Néel temperature.

Disclosed is a visible light responsive photocatalyst that simultaneously realizes high crystallinity and refinement of primary particles. Also disclosed is a photocatalyst composed of secondary particles that have a high porosity and are aggregates of fine primary particles. Rhodium-doped strontium titanate that is a visible light responsive photocatalyst of the present invention has a primary particle diameter of not more than 70 nm and has a absorbance at a wavelength of 570 nm of not less than 0.6 and a absorbance at a wavelength of 1800 nm of not more than 0.7, each absorbance determining by measuring a diffuse reflection spectrum, the rhodium-doped strontium titanate having a high water-splitting activity as a photocatalyst.

A positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery includes a first oxide particle having a layered structure and a second oxide layer located in a surface of the first oxide particle and including a second oxide represented by the following Chemical Formula 1: M.sub.aL.sub.bO.sub.c, wherein in Chemical Formula 1, 0<a≦3, 1≦b≦2, 3.8≦c≦4.2, M is at least one element selected from the group of Mg, Al, Ga, and combinations thereof, and L is at least one element selected from of group Ti, Zr, and combinations thereof.

The invention relates to novel materials of the formula: A.sub.uM.sup.1.sub.vM.sup.2.sub.wM.sup.3.sub.XM.sup.4.sub.yM.sup.5.sub.ZO.sub.2 wherein A comprises one or more alkali metals selected from lithium, sodium and potassium; M.sup.1 is nickel in oxidation state +2 M.sup.2 comprises a metal in oxidation state +4 selected from one or more of manganese, titanium and zirconium; M.sup.3 comprises a metal in oxidation state +2, selected from one or more of magnesium, calcium, copper, zinc and cobalt; M.sup.4 comprises a metal in oxidation state +4, selected from one or more of titanium, manganese and zirconium; M.sup.5 comprises a metal in oxidation state +3, selected from one or more of aluminum, iron, cobalt, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium, scandium and yttrium; further wherein U is in the range 1<U<2; V is in the range 0.25<V<1; W is in the range 0<W<0.75; X is in the range 0≦X<0.5; Y is in the range 0≦Y<0.5; Z is in the range 0≦Z<0.5; and further wherein (U+V+W+X+Y+Z)≦3. Such materials are useful, for example, as electrode materials in sodium and/or lithium ion battery applications.

A lithium metal oxide powder comprises secondary particles comprised of agglomerated primary lithium metal oxide particles bonded together, the primary lithium metal oxide particles being comprised of Li, Ni, Mn, Co and oxygen and having a median primary particle size of 0.1 micrometer to 3 micrometers, wherein the secondary particles have a porosity that is at least about 10%. The lithium metal oxide powders are useful make lithium ion battery having improved performance particularly when the secondary particles deagglomerate when forming the cathode used in the lithium ion battery.

A method of making a synthetic hectorite-type mineral is described, along with its resulting physical and rheological properties. The synthetic hectorite-type mineral is a 2:1 phyllosilicate essentially free of aluminum, and having a trioctahedral structure with Mg2+ and Li+ occupying octahedral sites. As a hydrogel, the synthetic hectorite-type mineral has a swell index of greater than 55 mL, and a yield point of greater than 290 Pa. The method of making uses a MgO/MgCO3 buffer system, with heating for about 2 hours at temperatures of no higher than 300° C. and pressures of no higher than 600 psi.