A graphite anode material, an anode, a lithium ion battery and preparation methods thereof. The graphite anode material includes a natural graphite core, a carbon coating layer, and a graphitizing filler. The natural graphite core has pores. The graphitizing filler is filled in the pores inside the natural graphite core. The graphitizing filler further forms the carbon coating layer. The preparation method includes: mixing natural graphite with a filler, and then pulverizing to obtain a graphite powder body; and graphitizing the graphite powder body in a protective atmosphere to obtain a graphite anode material. The preparation method reduces material turnover and residual loss, and achieves simple process and high production efficiency. The anode and lithium ion battery prepared have high first efficiency and excellent cycling performance.

Porous metal oxide microspheres are prepared via a process comprising forming a liquid dispersion of polymer nanoparticles and a metal oxide; forming liquid droplets of the dispersion; drying the droplets to provide polymer template microspheres comprising polymer nanospheres; and removing the polymer nanospheres from the template microspheres to provide the porous metal oxide microspheres. The porous microspheres exhibit saturated colors and are suitable as colorants for a variety of end-uses.

Silicon materials suitable for use as an anode material and associated method of production are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a silicon material includes crystalline silicon in a matrix and macro-scale pores distributed in the matrix of the crystalline silicon. The macro-scale pores can have a size greater than 100 nanometers, and surfaces of crystalline silicon in the macro-scale pores are coated with carbon.

A NaY molecular sieve with an aluminum-rich surface is prepared using a process that includes the steps of: a. mixing a directing agent and a first silicon source to obtain a first mixture, wherein the directing agent has a molar composition of Na.sub.2O:Al.sub.2O.sub.3:SiO.sub.2:H.sub.2O=(6-25):1:(6-25):(200-400); b. mixing the first mixture obtained in the step a with a second silicon source, an aluminum source and water to obtain a second mixture; c. carrying out hydrothermal crystallization on the second mixture obtained in the step b, and collecting a solid product. Calculated as SiO.sub.2, the weight ratio of the first silicon source to the second silicon source is 1:(0.01-12). The NaY molecular sieve has larger aluminum distribution gradient from the surface to the center of the particle than the conventional molecular sieve.

A positive electrode active material is constituted by lithium transition metal-containing composite oxide particles having a layered rock salt type crystal structure and are composed of secondary particles each formed of an aggregation of primary particles. The secondary particles have a d50 of 3.0 to 7.0 μm, a BET specific surface area of 1.8 to 5.5 m.sup.2/g, a pore peak diameter of 0.01 to 0.30 μm, and a log differential pore volume [dV/d(log D)] of 0.2 to 0.6 ml/g within a range of the pore peak diameter. In each of a plurality of primary particles having a primary particle size of 0.1 to 1.0 μm, a coefficient of variation of the concentration of an additive element M is 1.5 or less.

Provided is a hydrophobic silica aerogel blanket comprising holes, so that the diffusion of a surface modifier is facilitated in a blanket during a surface modification process to improve the efficiency of surface modification. Accordingly, the hydrophobic silica aerogel has not only excellent physical properties such as specific surface area and thermal conductivity, but also a controlled degree of hydrophobicity, and thus, can have high hydrophobicity.

A zirconia powder in which when a stabilizer is Y.sub.2O.sub.3, a content thereof is 1.4 mol % or more and less than 2.0 mol %; when the stabilizer is Er.sub.2O.sub.3, a content thereof is 1.4 mol % or more and 1.8 mol % or less; when the stabilizer is Yb.sub.2O.sub.3, a content thereof is 1.4 mol % or more and 1.8 mol % or less; and when the stabilizer is CaO, a content thereof is 3.5 mol % or more and 4.5 mol % or less; and in a range of 10 nm or more and 200 nm or less in a pore distribution, a peak top diameter of a pore volume distribution is 20 nm or more and 120 nm or less, a pore volume is 0.2 ml/g or more and less than 0.5 ml/g, and a pore distribution width is 30 nm or more and 170 nm or less.

A zirconia powder containing a stabilizer, and having a specific surface area of 20 m.sup.2/g or more and 60 m.sup.2/g or less and a particle diameter D.sub.50 of 0.1 μm or more and 0.7 μm or less, in which in a range of 10 nm or more and 200 nm or less in a pore distribution based on a mercury intrusion method, a peak top diameter in a pore volume distribution is 20 nm or more and 85 nm or less, a pore volume is 0.2 ml/g or more and less than 0.5 ml/g, and a pore distribution width is 40 nm or more and 105 nm or less.

According to an embodiment, there is provided an electrode including an active material-containing layer. A logarithmic differential pore volume distribution curve of the active material-containing layer by a mercury intrusion method includes first and second peaks. The first peak is a local maximum value in a range where a pore size is from 0.1 μm or more to 0.5 μm or less. The second peak is a local maximum value in a range where the pore size is from 0.5 μm or more to 1.0 μm or less. An intensity A1 of the first peak and an intensity A2 of the second peak satisfy 0.1≤A2/A1≤0.3. A density of the active material-containing layer is from 2.9 g/cm.sup.3 or more to 3.3 g/cm.sup.3 or less.

Disclosed herein are methods for the preparation of porous metal oxide materials, including metal oxide xerogels and metal oxide aerogels. Methods for preparing porous metal oxide materials can comprise (i) reacting a metal alkoxide with water in the presence of a catalyst system to form a partially hydrolyzed sol, (ii) contacting the partially hydrolyzed sol with a base catalyst and a non-aqueous solvent to form a precursor gel; and (iii) drying the precursor gel to form the porous metal oxide material. The catalyst system employed in step (i) comprises a combination of a weak acid and a strong acid.