A method of reducing color in an alkanolamine, the method comprising: contacting the alkanolamine with an amount of an aqueous solution effective to provide 5 to 1000 parts per million by weight of an alkali metal borohydride, based on parts by weight of the alkanolamine; and 0.5 to 10,000 parts per million by weight of an alkali metal hydroxide, based on parts by weight of the alkanolamine; preferably wherein the color-reduced alkanolamine is not distilled after the contacting.

A method and a system is provided for obtaining solid-state hydrogen storage and release in materials with at least theoretical loaded hydrogen densities of 11 wt % or greater that can deliver hydrogen and be recharged at moderate temperatures enabling incorporation into hydrogen storage systems suitable for transportation applications. These materials comprise ternary boride materials comprising certain light transition metals and alkaline or alkaline earth metals, and ideally have no or very little phase separation. A process of making these materials is also provided.

A method and a system is provided for obtaining solid-state hydrogen storage and release in materials with at least theoretical loaded hydrogen densities of 11 wt % or greater that can deliver hydrogen and be recharged at moderate temperatures enabling incorporation into hydrogen storage systems suitable for transportation applications. These materials comprise ternary boride materials comprising certain light transition metals and alkaline or alkaline earth metals, and ideally have no or very little phase separation. A process of making these materials is also provided.

A method of forming tungsten tetraboride, by combining tungsten and boron in a molar ratio of from about 1:6 to about 1:12, respectively, and firing the combined tungsten and boron in the hexagonal boron nitride crucible at a temperature of from about 1600 C to about 2000 C, to form tungsten tetraboride.

A method of forming tungsten tetraboride, by combining tungsten and boron in a molar ratio of from about 1:6 to about 1:12, respectively, and firing the combined tungsten and boron in the hexagonal boron nitride crucible at a temperature of from about 1600 C to about 2000 C, to form tungsten tetraboride.

Herein provided are cubic boron arsenide (c-BAs) single crystals having an unexpectedly high ambipolar mobility at room temperature, .Math..sub.a, at one or more locations thereof that is greater than or equal to 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, 2500, 2600, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, or 10000 cm.sup.2V.sup.-1s.sup.-1, wherein the ambipolar mobility is defined as: .Math..sub.a = 2.Math..sub.e.Math..sub.h/(.Math..sub.e + .Math..sub.h), wherein .Math..sub.e is electron mobility and .Math..sub.h is hole mobility, and having a room temperature thermal conductivity at the one or more locations thereof that is greater than or equal to 1000 Wm.sup.-1K.sup.-1. Methods of making and using the c-BAs single crystals are also provided.

Herein provided are cubic boron arsenide (c-BAs) single crystals having an unexpectedly high ambipolar mobility at room temperature, .Math..sub.a, at one or more locations thereof that is greater than or equal to 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, 2500, 2600, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, or 10000 cm.sup.2V.sup.-1s.sup.-1, wherein the ambipolar mobility is defined as: .Math..sub.a = 2.Math..sub.e.Math..sub.h/(.Math..sub.e + .Math..sub.h), wherein .Math..sub.e is electron mobility and .Math..sub.h is hole mobility, and having a room temperature thermal conductivity at the one or more locations thereof that is greater than or equal to 1000 Wm.sup.-1K.sup.-1. Methods of making and using the c-BAs single crystals are also provided.

Methods of making a ceramic of a Group 13-15 type or a Group 13-15-16 type by thermolyzing a discrete molecular precursor to the ceramic in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. In some embodiments, the discrete molecular precursor is bench-stable and comprises a Lewis acid-base pair or small cyclic compound containing at last one Group 13 element and at least one Group 15 element but does not include indium and phosphorus in combination with one another unless a Group 16 element is present. The thermolysis can be carried out in air, at atmospheric pressure, and at a temperature below about 400° C., if desired. In some embodiments, the discrete molecular precursor can be placed in a mold having a desired shape and the thermolysis performed while the discrete molecular precursor is in the mold so as to produce a ceramic product having the desired shape.

Methods of making a ceramic of a Group 13-15 type or a Group 13-15-16 type by thermolyzing a discrete molecular precursor to the ceramic in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. In some embodiments, the discrete molecular precursor is bench-stable and comprises a Lewis acid-base pair or small cyclic compound containing at last one Group 13 element and at least one Group 15 element but does not include indium and phosphorus in combination with one another unless a Group 16 element is present. The thermolysis can be carried out in air, at atmospheric pressure, and at a temperature below about 400° C., if desired. In some embodiments, the discrete molecular precursor can be placed in a mold having a desired shape and the thermolysis performed while the discrete molecular precursor is in the mold so as to produce a ceramic product having the desired shape.

Boride particles represented by a general formula XB, (where X is at least one kind of metal element selected from Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Sr, Ca, and m is a number indicating an amount of boron in the general formula) are provided, wherein an amount of carbon included in the boride particles is 0.2% by mass or less, as measured by a combustion-infrared absorption method.