According to the present disclosure, a method of forming an exfoliated or intercalated filler material is provided, wherein the said method comprises the steps of mixing particles of filler material such as montmorillonite (MMT), mica, layered double hydroxide (LDH), and attapulgite (AT) dispersed in an aqueous medium with cationic acrylate monomers to form modified particles comprising positively charged ions, dispersing the modified particles in organic medium to form a dispersion, contacting said dispersion with an organo-silicate such as tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and a functionalizing agent comprising an organo-silane such as aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS), in the presence of a basic catalyst to form a layer of silica on the modified particles. The present disclosure also relates to an exfoliated or intercalated filler material obtained by the said method as well as a method of forming a resin/clay nanocomposite.

There are provided a lithium-containing garnet crystal high in density and ionic conductivity, and an all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery using the lithium-containing garnet crystal. The lithium-containing garnet crystal has a chemical composition represented by Li.sub.7-xLa.sub.3Zr.sub.2-xTa.sub.xO.sub.12 (0.2≦x≦1), and has a relative density of 99% or higher, belongs to a cubic system, and has a garnet-related structure. The lithium-containing garnet crystal has a lithium ion conductivity of 1.0×10.sup.−3 S/cm or higher. Further, this solid electrolyte material has a lattice constant a of 1.28 nm≦a≦1.30 nm, and lithium ions occupy 96h-sites in the crystal structure. The all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery has a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a solid electrolyte, and the solid electrolyte is constituted of the lithium-containing garnet crystal according to the present invention.

According to one embodiment, an active material is provided. The active material includes a composite oxide including yttrium atoms in an orthorhombic crystal structure thereof. Also included in the orthorhombic crystal structure of the composite oxide is at least one selected from the group consisting of alkali metal atoms and alkaline earth metal atoms. Among crystal sites represented by Wyckoff notations in the orthorhombic crystal structure, an occupancy of crystal sites that can be occupied by the alkali metal atoms or by the alkaline earth metal atoms is less than 100%.

A manganese oxide contains M1, optionally M2, Mn and O. M1 is selected from the group consisting of In, Sc, Y, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu. M2 is different from M1, and M2 is selected from the group consisting of Bi, In, Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu. These ceramic materials are hexagonal in structure, and provide superior materials for gas separation and oxygen storage.

A positive electrode active material for a sodium secondary battery includes a sodium composite transition metal oxide represented by Formula 1 and having a P3 crystal structure, and a positive electrode and a sodium secondary battery which include the positive electrode active material.
Na.sub.x[Li.sub.aM.sub.1-a]O.sub.2  [Formula 1]
wherein M is at least one transition metal, 0.64≤x≤0.7, and 0.01≤a≤0.1.

This disclosure provides an optical parametric oscillator, comprising, in a light path, a first lens, a laser crystal, a second lens, a nonlinear optical crystal, and a third lens in this order, wherein an optical parametric oscillation chamber is formed between the second lens and the third lens, and the nonlinear optical crystal is a monoclinic Ga.sub.2S.sub.3 crystal, the space group of the monoclinic Ga.sub.2S.sub.3 crystal is Cc, and the unit cell parameters are a=11.1 Å, b=6.4 Å, c=7.0 Å, α=90°, β=121°, γ=90°, and Z=4.

An oxynitride phosphor powder contains α-SiAlON and aluminum nitride, obtained by mixing a silicon source, an aluminum source, a calcium source, and a europium source to produce a composition represented by a compositional formula: Ca.sub.x1Eu.sub.x2Si.sub.12−(y+z)Al.sub.(y+z)O.sub.zN.sub.16−z (wherein x1, x2, y and z are 0<x1≦3.40, 0.05≦x2≦0.20, 4.0≦y≦7.0, and 0≦z≦1), and firing the mixture.

Novel colored compounds with a hibonite structure and a method for making the same are disclosed. The compounds may have a formula AAl.sub.12−x−yM.sup.a.sub.xM.sup.b.sub.yO.sub.19 where A is typically an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, a rare earth metal, Pb, Bi or any combination thereof, and M.sup.a is Ni, Fe, Cu, Cr, V, Mn, or Co or any combination thereof, and M.sup.b is Ti, Sn, Ge, Si, Zr, Hf, Ga, In, Zn, Mg, Nb, Ta, Sb, Mo, W or Te or any combination thereof. Compounds with varying colors, such as blue, can be made by varying A, M.sup.a and M.sup.b and their relative amounts. Compositions comprising the compounds and methods for making and using the same are also disclosed.

A nickel-based metal oxide for a lithium secondary battery, a nickel-based active material obtained from the nickel-based lithium metal oxide, a method of preparing the nickel-based metal oxide, and a lithium secondary battery including the nickel-based metal oxide as a cathode are provided. The nickel-based metal oxide for a lithium secondary battery is a single-crystal particle and includes a cubic composite phase, wherein the cubic composite phase includes a metal oxide phase represented by Formula 1 and a metal oxide phase represented by Formula 2:

Ni.sub.1-x-z-kM.sub.kLi.sub.xCo.sub.zO.sub.1-y,  Formula 1

wherein, in Formula 1, 0≤x≤0.1, 0≤y≤0.1, 0≤z≤0.5, and 0≤k≤0.5,

Ni.sub.6-x-z-kM.sub.kLi.sub.xCo.sub.zMnO.sub.8-y, and  Formula 2

wherein, in Formula 2, 0≤x≤0.1, 0≤y≤0.1, 0≤z≤0.5, and 0≤k≤0.5, and the case where x of Formula 1 and x of Formula 2 are 0 at the same time is excluded.

Methods for wet chemical synthesis of lithium argyrodites are provided, which in some embodiments include includes dissolving a stoichiometric mixture of precursors in a small quantity of solvent in an argon atmosphere, drying the mixture under vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere to evaporate the solvent, and then annealing to obtain a final lithium argyrodite product. Further embodiments comprise synthesizing the precursors, and excess halide doping to achieve higher ionic conductivity.