Provided are a cobalt-free positive electrode material for a lithium ion battery, a preparation method therefor and a lithium ion battery. The method for preparing the cobalt-free positive electrode material for the lithium ion battery comprises: mixing lithium nickel manganese oxide with sulfate, so as to obtain a first mixture; and reacting the first mixture at a predetermined temperature, so as to obtain the cobalt-free positive electrode material. The cobalt-free positive electrode material comprises lithium nickel manganese oxide and a cladding layer of an outer surface thereof, and the cladding layer comprises lithium sulphate. The lithium ion battery comprises the cobalt-free positive electrode material. The cobalt-free positive electrode material has a relatively high electrical performance and a relatively low alkali content.

A lithium metal composite oxide having a layered structure, including at least lithium and an element X, wherein:the element X is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Co, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ti, Mg, Al, W, Mo, Nb, Zn, Sn, Zr, Ga, V, B, Si, S and P; the lithium metal composite oxide contains single particles and satisfies all of requirements (1) to (5):(1): a volume-based 50% cumulative particle size D.sub.50 of the lithium metal composite oxide is 2 μm or more and 10 μm or less; (2): the single particles have, on at least a part of surfaces thereof, adhered fine particles, with the proviso that a maximum particle size of the adhered fine particles is smaller than a particle size of the single particles; (3): the particle size of the single particles is 0.2 to 1.5 times D.sub.50 of the lithium metal composite oxide; (4): a particle size of the adhered fine particles is 0.01 to 0.1 times the D.sub.50 of the lithium metal composite oxide; and (5): an average number of the adhered fine particles adhered per particle of the single particles is 1 or more and 30 or less as measured with respect to a range observable in an image obtained by scanning electron microscope.

A positive electrode active material for an all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery, containing: a lithium-metal composite oxide particle having a niobium solid solution layer and a center other than the niobium solid solution layer; and a coating layer coating at least a part of a surface of the lithium-metal composite oxide particle and formed of a compound containing lithium and niobium, an average thickness of the coating layer is 2 nm or more and 1 μm or less, and an average thickness of the niobium solid solution layer is 0.5 nm or more and 20 nm or less.

Disclosed herein are a nickel oxide fine powder that is suitable as a material for electronic parts and has a controlled sulfur content, a low chlorine content, and a fine particle size and a method for industrially and stably producing such a nickel oxide fine powder.

Nickel hydroxide obtained by neutralizing an aqueous nickel sulfate solution with an alkali is heat-treated in a non-reducing atmosphere at a temperature higher than 650° C. but lower than 1050° C. to form nickel oxide particles, and a sintered compact of nickel oxide particles that may be formed during the heat treatment is pulverized by preferably allowing the nickel oxide particles to collide with one another. The thus obtained nickel oxide fine powder has a sulfur content of 400 mass ppm or less, a chlorine content of 50 mass ppm or less, a sodium content of 100 mass ppm or less, and a specific surface area of 3 m.sup.2/g or more but less than 6 m.sup.2/g.

A process for treating a sulfurous fluid to form gypsum and magnesium carbonate, whereby the sulfurous fluid is scrubbed with a sequestrating agent to yield a scrubbed fluid, gypsum and magnesium sulfate. The flue gas desulfurized gypsum is isolated from the magnesium sulfate solution by filtration or centrifugation. The magnesium sulfate is reacted with a carbonate salt to produce a magnesium carbonate whereby the reaction conditions are controlled to control the properties of the magnesium carbonate produced.

The present invention relates to a process for the manufacturing of a calcium carbonate-comprising material, a calcium carbonate-comprising material obtained by a process as well as the use of the calcium carbonate-comprising material for paper filler and paper coating applications, cigarette paper applications, for plastics applications or in paints, coatings, adhesives, replacement of titanium dioxide, preferably in paints, sealants, food, feed, pharma, concrete, cement, cosmetic, water treatment and/or agriculture applications.

A non-flaky carbon material having specific optical structures, wherein the ratio between the peak intensity I110 of (110) plane and the peak intensity I004 of (004) plane of a graphite crystal determined by the powder XRD measurement, I110/I004, is 0.10 or more and 0.35 or less; an average circularity is 0.80 or more and 0.95 or less; d002 is 0.337 nm or less; and the total pore volume of pores having a diameter of 0.4 μm or less measured by the nitrogen gas adsorption method is 25.0 μl/g or more and 40.0 μl/g or less. Also disclosed is a method for producing the carbon material, a carbon material for a battery electrode, a paste for an electrode incorporating the carbon material for a battery electrode, an electrode for a lithium battery incorporating a formed body of the paste for an electrode, a lithium-ion secondary battery including the electrode and a method for producing the electrode.

The invention provides a method for producing an aqueous dispersion of titanium oxide particles which comprises: (a) first step for subjecting an aqueous slurry of titanium oxide particles to wet dispersing treatment in the presence of 15 to 250 parts by mole of acetic acid and 15 to 90 parts by mole of nitric acid each relative to 100 parts by mole of titanium oxide with a medium agitating mill or a high pressure dispersing machine to obtaining an aqueous dispersion of titanium oxide particles before washing, and (b) a second step for washing the aqueous dispersion of titanium oxide particles before washing obtained in the first step (a) to obtain an aqueous dispersion of titanium oxide particles.

The invention further provides a method for producing an alcohol dispersion of titanium oxide particles which comprises: (c) a third step for replacing the dispersion medium of the aqueous dispersion of titanium oxide particles obtained in the second step by an alcohol solvent.

The present invention provides a positive electrode active material for a secondary battery, which includes a core, a shell disposed to surround the core, and a buffer layer which is disposed between the core and the shell and includes pores and a three-dimensional network structure connecting the core and the shell, wherein, the core, the shell, and the three-dimensional network structure of the buffer layer each independently include a lithium nickel manganese cobalt-based composite metal oxide and at least one metallic element of the nickel, the manganese, and the cobalt has a concentration gradient that gradually changes in any one region of the core, the shell, and the entire positive electrode active material.

This invention relates to particulate electroactive materials consisting of a plurality of composite particles, wherein the composite particles comprise a plurality of silicon nanoparticles dispersed within a conductive carbon matrix. The particulate material comprises 40 to 65 wt % silicon, at least 6 wt % and less than 20% oxygen, and has a weight ratio of the total amount of oxygen and nitrogen to silicon in the range of from 0.1 to 0.45 and a weight ratio of carbon to silicon in the range of from 0.1 to 1. The particulate electroactive materials are useful as an active component of an anode in a metal ion battery.