This positive electrode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery contains a lithium transition metal complex oxide capable of occluding and releasing Li, and contains SrMnO.sub.3 in the interior or exterior of secondary particles of the lithium transition metal complex oxide.

Provided is a silica that exhibits a high matting property when utilized as a matting agent for a paint, and can also suppress the occurrence of cloudiness. The silica has an aggregated structure in which primary particles are aggregated, has a particle diameter ratio R represented by the following equation (1) of from 4.3 to 5.2, has an absorbance of 0.6 or less for light having a wavelength of 700 nm as an aqueous dispersion having a concentration of 1.48 mass %, and has a particle density measured with a He pycnometer of 2.18 g/cm.sup.3 or more: Equation (1) R=.sup.LD50/.sup.CD50 (in the equation (1), .sup.LD50 represents a volume-based 50% cumulative particle diameter (μm) of the silica measured based on a laser diffraction/scattering method, and .sup.CD50 represents a volume-based 50% cumulative particle diameter (μm) of the silica measured based on a Coulter counter method).

An anode active material for use within an anode of a lithium-ion battery along with a method or process for preparing the same. Where the anode active material includes one or more non-aggregated silicon particles having BET surface areas of 0.2 to 10.0 m.sup.2/g (determination according to DIN 66131 (with nitrogen), a chloride content of 220 to 5000 ppm and a volume-weighted particle size distribution having diameter percentiles d.sub.50 of 0.5 μm to 10.0 μm.

Process for making a lithiated oxide, said process comprising the following steps: (a) making a particulate hydroxide, oxide or oxyhydroxide of nickel, and, optionally, at least one of Co and Mn and, by combining an aqueous solution of sodium or potassium hydrox-ide with an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble salt of nickel and, optionally, a water-soluble salt of Co, Mn, Al, Ti, Zr, W, Mo, Ga, Nb, Ta, or Mg, (b) adding a source of lithium, (c) treating the mixture obtained from step (b) thermally at at least two different temperatures: (c1) at 300 to 500° C. under an atmosphere that may comprise oxygen, (c2) at 500 to 600° C. under an atmosphere of oxygen, wherein the temperature in step (c2) is set to be higher than in step (c1).

The invention relates to improved particulate lithium nickel oxide materials which are useful as cathode materials in lithium secondary batteries. The invention also provides processes for preparing such lithium nickel oxide materials, and electrodes and cells comprising the materials.

The invention relates to a process for thermally treating, in particular synthesizing and/or drying and calcinating, a nano- and/or micro-scale or nano- and/or micro-crystalline battery material (BM) and/or battery material precursor (BM) in a thermal reactor (1), comprising the steps of: introducing a starting compound (AV) into the reactor (1), the starting material (AV) being a battery material (BM) and/or battery material precursor (BM) and the starting material (AV) being introduced into the reactor (1) in the form of a solution, slurry, suspension or in a solid state of matter, thermally treating the battery material (BM) and/or battery material precursor (BM) carried in a hot gas flow (HGS) in a treatment zone in the reactor (1) at a temperature of 150° C. to 1000° C., and discharging the battery material (BM) obtained from the reactor (1) in the form of a powder.

A positive electrode active material that is used in a high-temperature operation type lithium ion solid secondary battery, wherein the positive electrode active material is made of oxide particles, which contains a first transition element and does not include an alkali metal.

A particulate oxide composition comprising cerium oxide, trivalent dopant, and optional additional metal oxide, other than cerium oxide and trivalent dopant, is beneficial to aid in the removal of biological contaminants, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa (e.g., amoebae), yeast and algae. This particulate oxide composition contains more cerium oxide than trivalent dopant and has a unique depth profile in which the average trivalent dopant to Ce ratio at about 0 nm to about 3.5 nm from the surface of the particulate composition is greater than the trivalent dopant to Ce ratio at about 15 nm from the surface of the particulate composition. These trivalent doped cerium oxide compositions can be used to remove these biological contaminants from fluids, including air and water, and from solid surfaces. Also described are methods of using compositions containing these trivalent doped cerium oxide compositions to remove biological contaminants.

Provided is a method for producing surface-treated silica powder that has excellent gap permeability and that allows a resin composition to have low viscosity in a case where the surface-treated silica powder is used as a resin filler, for example, for a semiconductor sealant. A surface treatment agent is brought into contact with silica powder such that: (1) a cumulative 50 mass % diameter D.sub.50 of a mass-based particle size distribution obtained by a centrifugal sedimentation method is 300 nm to 500 nm (preferably 330 nm to 400 nm); (2) a loose bulk density is 250 kg/m.sup.3 to 400 kg/m.sup.3 (preferably 270 kg/m.sup.3 to 350 kg/m.sup.3); and (3) {(D.sub.90−D.sub.50)/D.sub.50}×100 is 30% to 45% (preferably 33% to 42%), to modify the surface of the silica powder, so that surface-treated silica powder is produced.

A zirconia-based porous body including an oxide of a rare earth element, in which when a pore volume in a pore distribution range of 30 nm or more and 200 nm or less after heating at 1150° C. for 12 hours under atmospheric pressure is defined as pore volume A and a pore volume in a pore distribution range of 30 nm or more and 200 nm or less before heating is defined as pore volume B, the pore volume A is 0.10 ml/g or more and 0.40 ml/g or less, and a pore volume retention ratio X in a pore distribution range of 30 nm or more and 200 nm or less represented by a formula [[(pore volume A)/(pore volume B)]×100] is 25% or more and 95% or less.