A polycrystalline cubic boron nitride comprising 98.5% by volume or more of cubic boron nitride, wherein the cubic boron nitride has a dislocation density of more than 8×10.sup.15/m.sup.2, the polycrystalline cubic boron nitride comprises a plurality of crystal grains, and the plurality of crystal grains have a median diameter d50 of an equivalent circle diameter of 0.1 μm or more and 0.5 μm or less.

The present invention relates to a lithium positive electrode active material for a high voltage secondary battery, where the lithium positive electrode active material comprising a spinel, and the spinel has a chemical composition of Li.sub.xNi.sub.yMn.sub.2-yO.sub.4, wherein: 0.95≤x≤1.05; and 0.43≤y≤0.47. The lithium positive electrode active material is synthesized from precursors containing Li, Ni, and Mn in a ratio Li:Ni:Mn:X:Y:2−Y, wherein: 0.95≤X≤1.05; and 0.42≤Y<0.5. The present invention also relates to a process of preparing the lithium positive electrode active material as well as a secondary battery comprising the lithium positive electrode active material.

Semiconductor structures having a nanocrystalline core and corresponding nanocrystalline shell and insulator coating, wherein the semiconductor structure includes an anisotropic nanocrystalline core composed of a first semiconductor material, and an anisotropic nanocrystalline shell composed of a second, different, semiconductor material surrounding the anisotropic nanocrystalline core. The anisotropic nanocrystalline core and the anisotropic nanocrystalline shell form a quantum dot. An insulator layer encapsulates the nanocrystalline shell and anisotropic nanocrystalline core.

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.

The present invention provides a method capable of producing hexagonal plate-shaped zinc oxide having a small thickness and a small variation in the particle size. The present invention relates to a method for producing hexagonal plate-shaped zinc oxide, the method including: a step (1) of preparing a slurry mixture containing starting particulate zinc oxide, a zinc acetate solution, and a chloride; and a step (2) of heat aging the slurry mixture obtained in the step (1) at 60° C. to 100° C.

Provided are thin leaf-like indium particles having a first peak and a second peak at a greater particle diameter than a particle diameter at which the first peak appears in a volume-based particle size distribution representing a relationship between particle diameters of indium particles and ratios by volume of the indium particles at the particle diameters, wherein a volume V1 of the indium particles at the first peak and a volume V2 of the indium particles at the second peak satisfy a formula (V1/V2)×100≥25%.

A low carbon footprint material is used to decrease the carbon dioxide emission for production of a high carbon footprint substance. A method of forming composite materials comprises providing a first high carbon footprint substance; providing a carbon nanomaterial produced with a carbon-footprint of less than 10 unit weight of carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) emission during production of 1 unit weight of the carbon nanomaterial; and forming a composite comprising the high carbon footprint substance and from 0.001 wt % to 25 wt % of the carbon nanomaterial, wherein the carbon nanomaterial is homogeneously dispersed in the composite to reduce the carbon dioxide emission for producing the composite material relative to the high carbon footprint substance.

Provided are a nickel-based active material precursor for a lithium secondary battery including a porous core and a porous shell, wherein a porosity of the porous shell may be greater than a porosity of the porous core, and a dense intermediate layer may be disposed between the porous core and the porous shell, wherein a porosity of the dense intermediate layer may be lower than the porosity of the porous core and the porosity of the porous shell; a method of preparing the same; a nickel-based active material for a lithium secondary battery formed therefrom; and a lithium secondary battery containing a positive electrode including the same.

Embodiments include a magnetic recording medium containing ε-type iron oxide particles and having excellent SNR, a manufacturing method of ε-type iron oxide particles, and a manufacturing method of a magnetic recording medium. High SNR is achieved by a magnetic recording medium containing ε-type iron oxide particles, in which a coefficient of variation of an aspect ratio of the ε-type iron oxide particles is equal to or smaller than 18%, and a squareness ratio of the magnetic recording medium measured in a longitudinal direction of the magnetic recording medium is higher than 0.3 and equal to or lower than 0.5. The object is also achieved by the application of the magnetic recording medium.

The present disclosure describes radiation-assisted, substrate-free, and solution-based nanostructure (e.g., a nanotube and/or a nanowire (NW)) growth processes. The processes use the high absorption coefficient and high density of free charge carriers in particle seeds (e.g., nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, and/or metal nanocrystals) to photothermally drive semiconductor nanostructure growth. The processes can be performed at atmospheric pressure, without specialized equipment such as specialized heating equipment and/or high-pressure reaction vessels.