Methods, systems, and components suitable for carbothermal reduction processes are disclosed. Exemplary systems include a reactor, such as hybrid solarthermal-electric reactor, a solar thermal reactor, an electric reactor, or a reactor heated by gas combustion, a pellet source, a gas reactant source, and a vacuum source. The reactor can operate as a moving bed or pseudo moving bed reactor.

A method of producing Aluminum Nitride comprising milling nuts into a powder, milling a powder of nanocrystalline Al.sub.2O.sub.3, mixing, pressing into a pellet, providing nitrogen, heating, and forming AlN. An Aluminum Nitride product from preparing powders of nuts and Al.sub.2O.sub.3, mixing, and forming a powder, pressurizing into a disk, pyrolizing in nitrogen, and forming AlN in a pure form and in the wurtzite phase. An Aluminum Nitride (AlN) from preparing powders of agricultural nuts, preparing powders of nanocrystalline Al.sub.2O.sub.3, mixing the powders and thereby forming a homogenous sample powder of agricultural nuts and Al.sub.2O.sub.3, pressurizing the homogenous sample powder into a disk, heat treating or pyrolizing the disk in a nitrogen atmosphere, reacting the disk and the nitrogen atmosphere and forming AlN, and wherein the AlN is nano-structured AlN and in a pure form and in the wurtzite phase of AlN.

An inorganic filler included in an epoxy resin composition includes a coating layer formed on a surface thereof, and the surface of the coating layer includes at least two elements selected from the group consisting of C, N and O.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal conductivity-giving material capable of giving substantially the same level of a thermal conductivity as that of the conventional material by using a smaller amount thereof than that conventionally used or giving a higher thermal conductivity than that of the conventional material by using substantially the same amount thereof as that conventionally used. The aforementioned problem can be solved by an easily deformable aggregate (D) comprising 100 pts.Math.mass of thermally conductive particles (A) having an average primary particle diameter of 0.1 to 10 m, and 0.1 to 30 pts.Math.mass of an organic binding agent (B), in which the easily deformable aggregate (D) has an average particle diameter of 2 to 100 m, and an average compressive force required for a 10% compressive deformation rate is 5 mN or lower.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal conductivity-giving material capable of giving substantially the same level of a thermal conductivity as that of the conventional material by using a smaller amount thereof than that conventionally used or giving a higher thermal conductivity than that of the conventional material by using substantially the same amount thereof as that conventionally used. The aforementioned problem can be solved by an easily deformable aggregate (D) comprising 100 pts.Math.mass of thermally conductive particles (A) having an average primary particle diameter of 0.1 to 10 m, and 0.1 to 30 pts.Math.mass of an organic binding agent (B), in which the easily deformable aggregate (D) has an average particle diameter of 2 to 100 m, and an average compressive force required for a 10% compressive deformation rate is 5 mN or lower.

The present invention provides method for producing a spherical aluminum nitride powder. In an embodiment, the method comprises mixing an Al precursor and a flux in a solvent to produce a mixed solution, spray-drying the mixed solution to form a spray-dried powder, mixing the spray-dried powder and a carbon-based material to form a mixture, heat treating the mixture in a nitrogen atmosphere to form a heat-treated compound, and decarbonizing the heat-treated compound in an air atmosphere, wherein the flux is at least one selected from the group consisting of Cu.sub.2O, TiO.sub.2, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3, and CuO, or a mixture of at least one selected from the group consisting of Cu.sub.2O, TiO.sub.2, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3, and CuO and at least one selected from the group consisting of CaF.sub.2 and Y.sub.2O.sub.3.

The present invention provides method for producing a spherical aluminum nitride powder. In an embodiment, the method comprises mixing an Al precursor and a flux in a solvent to produce a mixed solution, spray-drying the mixed solution to form a spray-dried powder, mixing the spray-dried powder and a carbon-based material to form a mixture, heat treating the mixture in a nitrogen atmosphere to form a heat-treated compound, and decarbonizing the heat-treated compound in an air atmosphere, wherein the flux is at least one selected from the group consisting of Cu.sub.2O, TiO.sub.2, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3, and CuO, or a mixture of at least one selected from the group consisting of Cu.sub.2O, TiO.sub.2, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3, and CuO and at least one selected from the group consisting of CaF.sub.2 and Y.sub.2O.sub.3.

The present invention relates to a composite material for use as a thermal interface material between a heat source and a heat sink. The present invention also relates to the method of synthesizing such a composite material. The composite material has high thermal conductivity, low thermal resistance and functions as an adhesive.

A method for preparing aluminum nitride powder, comprising: (A) providing an aluminum metal powder and a carbon source, and mixing the aluminum metal powder and the carbon source to form a mixed powder; (B) performing a medium-low-temperature nitriding reaction on the mixed powder to form a partially nitrided aluminum nitride powder containing an intermediate aluminum carbide phase; (C) subjecting the partially nitrided aluminum nitride powder to a high-temperature nitriding reaction to remove the intermediate aluminum carbide phase and form a fully nitrided aluminum nitride powder; and (D) decarbonizing the fully nitrided aluminum nitride powder in the atmosphere to form a high-purity aluminum nitride powder. Compared with the direct nitriding method of aluminum powder, although additionally introduces the carbon mixing and decarbonizing steps, the subsequent grinding steps can also be omitted, thereby avoiding the introduction of redundant impurities and improving the purity of the output aluminum nitride powder.

An object is to provide a piezoelectric body having a value indicating a higher performance index (d.sub.33, e.sub.33, C.sub.33, g.sub.33, and/or k.sup.2) than aluminum nitride not doped with any element. The piezoelectric body is represented by a chemical formula Al.sub.1-X-YMg.sub.XM.sub.YN where X+Y is less than 1, X is in a range of more than 0 and less than 1, and Y is in a range of more than 0 and less than 1.