Disclosed is a method of: providing a hydrogenated sp.sup.2 carbon allotrope, and releasing hydrogen gas from the carbon allotrope. The method may be used an apparatus having: a vessel for containing the hydrogenated sp.sup.2 carbon allotrope, a fuel cell capable of using hydrogen gas a fuel, and a tube for transporting hydrogen gas from the vessel to the fuel cell. The carbon allotrope may be made by: providing a mixture of an sp.sup.2 carbon allotrope and liquid ammonia, adding an alkali metal to the mixture, and sonicating the mixture to form a hydrogenated form of the carbon allotrope. The hydrogenated carbon can be at least 3.5 wt % hydrogen covalently bound to the carbon.

A nanoparticle of a decomposition product of a transition metal aluminum hydride compound, a transition metal borohydride compound, or a transition metal gallium hydride compound. A process of: reacting a transition metal salt with an aluminum hydride compound, a borohydride compound, or a gallium hydride compound to produce one or more of the nanoparticles. The reaction occurs in solution while being sonicated at a temperature at which the metal hydride compound decomposes. A process of: reacting a nanoparticle with a compound containing at least two hydroxyl groups to form a coating having multi-dentate metal-alkoxides.

In an embodiment, a metal or metal-ion battery cell, includes anode and cathode electrodes, a separator electrically separating the anode and the cathode, and a solid electrolyte ionically coupling the anode and the cathode, wherein the solid electrolyte comprises a material having one or more rearrangeable chalcogen-metal-hydrogen groups that are configured to transport at least one metal-ion or metal-ion mixture through the solid electrolyte, wherein the solid electrolyte exhibits a melting point below about 350 C. In an example, the solid electrolyte may be produced by mixing different dry metal-ion compositions together, arranging the mixture inside of a mold, and heating the mixture while arranged inside of the mold at least to a melting point (e.g., below about 350 C.) of the mixture so as to produce a material comprising one or more rearrangeable chalcogen-metal-hydrogen groups.

An electrode material for a lithium ion secondary battery of the present invention is an electrode material for a lithium ion secondary battery including an electrode active material and a carbonaceous film that coats a surface of the electrode active material, in which a hydroxy group and a group which is at least one selected from a carboxyl group, a nitro group, and a sulfo group have been introduced to an outermost surface of the carbonaceous film, a ratio of a total count number of the group which is at least one selected from the carboxyl group, the nitro group, and the sulfo group to a count number of the hydroxy group is 0.001 or more and 10.000 or less when a surface of the carbonaceous film is analyzed through time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to obtain the ratio, a coating ratio of the carbonaceous film is set to 40% or more and 90% or less, and the carbonaceous film has at least one through-hole per 100 square nanometers.

High quality flake graphite is produced by methods that include mixing a carbon-containing feedstock with a catalyst to form a feedstock/catalyst mixture, or coating a catalyst with a carbon-containing feedstock, and subjecting the mixture or feed-stock-coated catalyst to irradiation with a laser to convert the feedstock into flake graphite in the presence of the catalyst. In some instances, the feedstock is converted to a char by pyrolysis and the char is instead subjected to laser irradiation. The feedstock can be a biomass or a carbonaceous material. The catalyst can be an elemental metal, an alloy, or a combination thereof. In some instances, methods described herein have been found to produce high quality flake graphite in the form of potato shaped agglomerates.

Carbon dioxide can be converted into a higher energy product by contacting carbon dioxide with a polarized monocrystalline magnesium oxide producing at least in part carbon. Further a novel crystalline magnesium oxide carbon composite comprising crystalline magnesium oxide and crystalline carbon having graphene structure which are interwoven is provided.

Disclosed is a ceramic composition comprising a plurality of at least semi-coherent particles with an average diameter ranging from 1 nm to 50 nm included within a matrix, wherein the matrix comprises one metal carbonate salt, metal oxide or metalloid oxide, the particles and the matrix share at least one metal element and the metal element is 10% to 80% of the total content of said matrix, and the composition has a lattice mismatch of less than 5%. Disclosed are also an article and methods for making the ceramic composition of the present invention.

An analytical method for precipitated particles using a co-precipitation reaction in includes feeding streams and a tracking metal into a reaction vessel; collecting a precipitated product containing the tracking metal from the reaction vessel in increments of time to obtain product samples; filtering each collected product sample to separate precipitated particles from filtrate; and performing elemental analysis for the tracking metal in the precipitated particles of each collected product sample and measuring a concentration of the tracking metal in the precipitated particles, to obtain a residence time distribution of the precipitated particles in the reaction vessel according to the concentration of the tracking metal in the precipitated particles. Therefore the preferred residence time of the precipitated particles in the reaction vessel can be ascertained, so that it is clear when the precipitated particles should be collected from the reaction vessel.

Materials and methods for preparing Cu.sub.2XSnY.sub.4 nanoparticles, wherein X is Zn, Cd, Hg, Ni, Co, Mn or Fe and Y is S or Se, (CXTY) are disclosed herein. The nanoparticles can be used to make layers for use in thin film photovoltaic (PV) cells. The CXTY materials are prepared by a colloidal synthesis in the presence of labile organo-chalcogens. The organo-chalcogens serves as both a chalcogen source for the nanoparticles and as a capping ligand for the nanoparticles.

The present invention provides a spherical boron nitride fine powder and the other superior in filling property into resin. The present invention relates to a spherical boron nitride fine powder having the following characteristics (A) to (C): (A) the spherical boron nitride fine particles have any one or more of Si, Ti, Zr, Ce, Al, Mg, Ge, Ga, and V in an amount of 0.1 atm % or more and 3.0 atm % or less in its composition on the surface of 10 nm; (B) the spherical boron nitride fine powder has an average particle diameter of 0.05 m or more and 1 m or less; and (C) the spherical boron nitride fine powder has an average circularity of 0.8 or more.