Some embodiments include a method of producing metal diboride nanomaterials having thickness down to the atomic scale and lateral areas from 10 nm to over 1 m by preparing a mixture of a metal diboride and a suspending solution. The suspending solution can be an organic solvent or a solution containing water, and optionally can include a dispersion agent, such as a surfactant, a polymer, small molecule, or biopolymer. Further, the method includes exfoliating the metal diboride by exposing the mixture to ultrasonic energy, centrifuging the mixture forming supernatant that includes a dispersion of exfoliated metal diborides, and extracting the dispersion from the supernatant. Some embodiments include extracting the supernatant and casting the solution by diluting the dispersion with a second suspending solution that includes dissolved polymer. This can result in a composite film includes a dispersion of the exfoliated metal diborides and provides improved mechanical properties.

A negative electrode active material including a silicon-containing alloy having a ternary alloy composition expressed by SiSnTi and including a structure in which an a-Si phase containing amorphous or low-crystalline silicon formed by dissolving tin in a crystal structure of silicon is dispersed in a parent phase of a silicide phase including TiSi.sub.2, wherein when a peak intensity of a SiO bond peak that is observed at a position where an interatomic distance in a radial wave function observed by XAFS is 0.13 nm is S(1) and a peak intensity of a SiSi bond peak that is observed at a position where the interatomic distance is 0.2 nm is S(2), a relation of S(2)>S(1) is satisfied is used for an electrical device. When used, the negative electrode active material achieves both cycle durability and charging-discharging efficiency for an electrical device such as a lithium ion secondary battery.

Gallium-containing nitride crystals are disclosed, comprising: a top surface having a crystallographic orientation within about 5 degrees of a plane selected from a (0001) +c-plane and a (000-1) c-plane; a substantially wurtzite structure; n-type electronic properties; an impurity concentration of hydrogen greater than about 510.sup.17 cm.sup.3; an impurity concentration of oxygen between about 210.sup.17 cm.sup.3 and about 110.sup.20 cm.sup.3; an [H]/[O] ratio of at least 0.3; an impurity concentration of at least one of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Ca, F, and CI greater than about 110.sup.16 cm.sup.3; a compensation ratio between about 1.0 and about 4.0; an absorbance per unit thickness of at least 0.01 cm.sup.1 at wavenumbers of approximately 3175 cm.sup.1, 3164 cm.sup.1, and 3150 cm.sup.1; and wherein, at wavenumbers between about 3200 cm.sup.1 and about 3400 cm.sup.1 and between about 3075 cm.sup.1 and about 3125 cm.sup.1, said gallium-containing nitride crystal is essentially free of infrared absorption peaks having an absorbance per unit thickness greater than 10% of the absorbance per unit thickness at 3175 cm.sup.1.

A resin composition for engineered stone according to the present invention is characterized by comprising: a matrix resin; an inorganic aggregate; and zinc oxide which has an average particle diameter of approximately 0.8 to approximately 3 m, and in which the size ratio (B/A) between a 450 to 600 nm region peak B and a 370 to 390 nm region peak A as measured by photoluminescence is approximately 0.01 to approximately 1.0. The resin composition for engineered stone has excellent weather resistance and antibacterial properties.

A process for preparing an electride compound, comprising (i) providing a precursor compound comprising an oxidic compound of the garnet group; (ii) heating the precursor provided in (i) under plasma forming conditions in a gas atmosphere to a temperature of the precursor above the Httig temperature of the precursor, obtaining the electride compound.

Disclosed herein are iron oxide nanoparticles prepared through high-temperature thermal decomposition of an Fe.sup.3+ precursor and an M.sup.+ or M.sup.2+ (M=Li, Na, K, Mg, and Ca) precursor in an oxygen atmosphere. The iron oxide nanoparticles are nanoparticles, in which an alkali metal or alkali earth metal is doped into an Fe vacancy site of -Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, and generate explosive heat even in a biocompatible low AC magnetic field. Through both in vitro and in vivo tests, it was proven that cancer cells could be killed by performing low-frequency hyperthermia using the iron oxide nanoparticles set forth above.

The current technology is directed to red and red-shade violet pigments with an hexagonal ABO.sub.3 structure of the form Y(In, M)O.sub.3 in which M is substituted for In in the trigonal bipyramidal B site of the ABO.sub.3 structure, and where M is a mixture containing Co.sup.2+ and charge compensating ions, or M is a mixture containing Co.sup.2+ and charge compensating ions, as well as other aliovalent and isovalent ions.

This invention relates to an industrial process of manufacturing hydroxide precursor for lithium transition metal oxide used in secondary lithium ion batteries. More particularly, this process utilizes highly concentrated nitrate salts and is designed to mitigate waste production.

A hydrotalcite is represented by formula (1):

(M.sup.2+).sub.1-X(M.sup.3+).sub.X(OH).sub.2(A.sup.n).sub.X/n.mH.sub.2O(1), wherein M.sup.2+ indicates a divalent metal, M.sup.3+ indicates a trivalent metal, A.sup.n indicates an n-valent anion, n indicates an integer of 1 to 6, 0.17x0.36, and 0m10. The hydrotalcite has (A) a lattice strain in the <003> direction is 310.sup.3 or less as measured using an X-ray diffraction method; (B) primary particles with an average width between 5 nm and 200 nm inclusive per a SEM method; and (C) a degree of monodispersity of 50% or greater (degree of monodispersity (%)=(average width of primary particles as measured using the SEM method/average width of secondary particles as measured using a dynamic light scattering method)100). A resin containing the hydrotalcite, a suspension containing the hydrotalcite and a method for producing the hydrotalcite are disclosed.

A nanocrystal preparation method comprises the following steps: dissolving, in a first selected solvent, a first precursor which is in a gaseous state under normal temperature and normal pressure, to form a first precursor solution; dissolving a second precursor in a second selected solvent to form a second precursor solution, wherein the second precursor is a precursor of a metal element of Group I, Group II, Group III or Group IV; and in an inert gas atmosphere, adding the first precursor solution into a reaction vessel which contains the second precursor solution, wherein the first precursor chemically reacts with the second precursor to generate a nanocrystal. The present invention further discloses a nanocrystal prepared by the above method and an apparatus for preparing and storing a gas-dissolved solution. With the preparation method according to the invention, the amount of the first precursor in a gaseous state can be accurately controlled, the reaction is more uniform and more controllable, and the obtained nanocrystal has uniform volume distribution and a higher luminescent quantum yield.