The invention provides a plurality of substantially same planar pigment flakes, each formed of one or more thin film layers. Each flake has a face surface and a flake border delimiting the face surface; the flake border undulates in the plane of the flake. The flakes have a pre-selected shape, may have a symbol or a grating thereon. A method of manufacturing of these flakes including the steps of: (a) providing a substrate having a plurality of one-flake regions and a plurality of depressions or protrusions disposed therebetween and not extending into the one-flake regions, (b) coating the substrate with a releasable coating, and (c) removing the releasable coating and breaking it into the flakes; wherein two adjacent of the one-flake regions are separated by at least three of the depressions or protrusions for facilitating the breaking of the releasable coating into the flakes.

The present invention is a surface-modified carbon material including chemical addends added to the surface of graphene, such that a one-dimensional periodicity corresponding to a large number of addition positions of the chemical addends can be observed in a Fourier-transformed image of a scanning probe microscopic image of the surface of graphene. The surface-modified carbon material of the present invention has a bandgap and therefore can be used as a sensor capable of electronically controlling an operation or another electronic device.

Provided are a nickel-based active material for a lithium secondary battery, a method of preparing the nickel-based active material, and a lithium secondary battery including a positive electrode including the nickel-based active material. The nickel-based active material includes at least one secondary particle that includes at least two primary particle structures, the primary particle structures each including a porous inner portion and an outer portion having a radially arranged structure, and the secondary particle including at least two radial centers.

Provided are the following: an MWW type zeolite which has many Brnsted acid sites when in the form of a proton type and which is highly suitable as a cracking catalyst for cumene; a method for producing same; and an application of same. The present invention provides an MWW type zeolite in which the ratio (B/A) of the peak intensity (B) attributable to tetracoordinate aluminum relative to the peak intensity (A) attributable to hexacoordinate aluminum is 2 or more in .sup.27Al MAS NMR, when measured as an ammonium type. The present invention also provides a method for producing an MWW type zeolite, the method having a step for carrying out a hydrothermal synthesis reaction in the presence of: a seed crystal of an MWW type zeolite containing no organic structure-directing agent; and a reaction mixture containing a silica source, an alumina source, an alkali source, an organic structure-directing agent, and water. The reaction mixture satisfies the following molar ratio: X/SiO.sub.2<0.15 (here, X denotes the number of moles of the organic structure-directing agent).

The present invention provides a method of preparing a positive electrode active material for a secondary battery including preparing a first transition metal-containing solution including a nickel raw material, a cobalt raw material, and a manganese raw material and a second transition metal-containing solution including a nickel raw material, a cobalt raw material, and a manganese raw material in a concentration different from that of the first transition metal-containing solution; preparing a reaction solution, in which nickel manganese cobalt-based composite metal hydroxide particles are formed, by adding an ammonium cation-containing complexing agent and a basic compound as well as the second transition metal-containing solution to the first transition metal-containing solution and performing a co-precipitation reaction in a pH range of 11 to 13.

This invention provides a material that is capable of preparing an external composition that achieves high smoothness and low roughness and that reflects near-infrared rays. Specifically, a granular composite comprising keratin and hexagonal plate-shaped zinc oxide particles is provided.

Provided are a nickel-based active material for a lithium secondary battery, a method of preparing the nickel-based active material, and a lithium secondary battery including a positive electrode including the nickel-based active material. The nickel-based active material includes at least one secondary particle that includes at least two primary particle structures, the primary particle structures each including a porous inner portion and an outer portion having a radially arranged structure, and the secondary particle including at least two radial centers.

Provided are a cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery, and a cathode and a lithium secondary battery including the same, the cathode active material including secondary particles including an aggregate of two or more primary particles, and a primary particle coefficient is greater than or equal to 30 m.sup.1 and a total circumferential length of the primary particles is greater than or equal to 220 m.

Nano-thick flakes that are either flat, and specularly-reflective in visible light or that have microroughness intentionally controlled to disperse or interfere with visible light. Coatings and inks utilizing such flakes. Method for fabrication of such flakes in partial vacuum includes the repeated multiple times deposition of a release layer over a substrate surface and a flake layer over the release layer to form a multilayer structure further reduced to individual flakes. Reactive metal is passivated inline with the deposition of the flake layer for superior corrosion resistance. Chemically-functional materials are optionally added to the release material to transfer their functionality to the surface of flake layer to create unique functional properties on a flake surface before the multilayer structure is removed from the substrate.

A method for producing polygonic Zn oxide platelets having a median specific surface area of more than 25 square meters per gram, in controlled size and morphology, the method comprising: preparing a medium including Zn or its compounds at a concentration within the range between 1.55 and 7.75 moles of Zn/L, in a medium suitable to substitute Zn ions by releasing free protons thereby forming a complex structure including Zn; agitation of the medium in a vessel at a temperature within the range between 50 and 320 for a duration up to 10 hours to obtain a suspension; filtering the suspension to obtain a filtrate including solid particles; drying and then calcination of the dried filtrate; wherein the agitation is performed with one or more radial flow impellers so that the Reynolds' number in the vessel is higher than 2500 and lower than 10000.