Techniques are disclosed for milling an iron-containing raw material in the presence of a nitrogen source to generate anisotropically shaped particles that include iron nitride and have an aspect ratio of at least 1.4. Techniques for nitridizing an anisotropic particle including iron, and annealing an anisotropic particle including iron nitride to form at least one a″-Fe16N2 phase domain within the anisotropic particle including iron nitride also are disclosed. In addition, techniques for aligning and joining anisotropic particles to form a bulk material including iron nitride, such as a bulk permanent magnet including at least one a″-Fe16N2 phase domain, are described. Milling apparatuses utilizing elongated bars, an electric field, and a magnetic field also are disclosed.

Soft magnetic materials, and related techniques for manufacturing such soft magnetic materials, are disclosed herein. Such magnetic materials can be based on iron nitride, iron oxynitride, iron boronitride and/or iron carbonitiride. The techniques disclosed herein for manufacturing ferromagnetic particles can be used to control functional magnetic and electrical properties of the manufactured particles. Some techniques disclosed herein can be used to form a coating on a particle, with the coating having a thickness of 0.05 to 1.00 μm. These magnetic materials manufactured via one or more of the techniques disclosed herein can have both relatively high magnetic induction and relatively high electrical resistivity.

Techniques are disclosed for milling an iron-containing raw material in the presence of a nitrogen source to generate anisotropically shaped particles that include iron nitride and have an aspect ratio of at least 1.4. Techniques for nitridizing an anisotropic particle including iron, and annealing an anisotropic particle including iron nitride to form at least one α″-Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domain within the anisotropic particle including iron nitride also are disclosed. In addition, techniques for aligning and joining anisotropic particles to form a bulk material including iron nitride, such as a bulk permanent magnet including at least one α″-Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domain, are described. Milling apparatuses utilizing elongated bars, an electric field, and a magnetic field also are disclosed.

A process of producing a cathode electrocatalyst for metal-air batteries includes providing a carbon source suspension, a metal source solution, and a nitrogen source solution, subjecting the carbon source suspension and the metal source solution to a low-temperature hydrothermal reaction, subjecting a first precursor-containing product thus formed and the nitrogen source solution to a high-temperature hydrothermal reaction, and subjecting a second precursor thus formed to a heating treatment under a protective atmosphere. A cathode electrocatalyst produced by the process is also disclosed.

Provided is a method and system for making powdered Fe.sub.16N.sub.2. The method can include sealing iron powder and a fixed amount of ammonia (NH.sub.3) gas within a pressure vessel. The pressure of the fixed amount of ammonia gas in the pressure vessel can be elevated so that Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 can be formed from the iron powder. Use of a pressure vessel and a fixed amount of ammonia gas can provide economic and environmental benefits such as higher conversion rates of iron powder into Fe.sub.16N.sub.2, reduced ammonia gas use, and reclamation of used ammonia gas.

A three-dimensional object may be manufactured using a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technique. A layer of powder feed material may be distributed over a solid substrate and scanned with a high-energy laser beam to locally melt selective regions of the layer and form a pool of molten feed material. The pool of molten feed material may be exposed to gaseous nitrogen, carbon, or boron to respectively dissolve nitride, carbide, or boride ions into the pool of molten feed material to produce a molten nitrogen, carbon, or boron-containing solution. The molten nitrogen, carbon, or boron-containing solution may cool and solidify into a solid layer of fused nitride, carbide, or boride-containing material.

Techniques are disclosed for milling an iron-containing raw material in the presence of a nitrogen source to generate anisotropically shaped particles that include iron nitride and have an aspect ratio of at least 1.4. Techniques for nitridizing an anisotropic particle including iron, and annealing an anisotropic particle including iron nitride to form at least one α″-Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domain within the anisotropic particle including iron nitride also are disclosed. In addition, techniques for aligning and joining anisotropic particles to form a bulk material including iron nitride, such as a bulk permanent magnet including at least one α″-Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domain, are described. Milling apparatuses utilizing elongated bars, an electric field, and a magnetic field also are disclosed.

A main object of the present disclosure is to provide an active material of which capacity properties are excellent. The present disclosure achieves the object by providing an active material to be used for a fluoride ion battery, the active material comprising: a composition represented by M.sup.1N.sub.x in which M.sup.1 is at least one kind of Cu, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Nb, In, Sn, Ta, W, and Bi, and x satisfies 0.05≤x≤3; or a composition represented by M.sup.2Ln.sub.yN.sub.z in which M.sup.2 is at least one kind of Cu, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Nb, In, Sn, Ta, W, and Bi, Ln is at least one kind of Sc, Y, and lanthanoid, y satisfies 0.1≤y≤3, and z satisfies 0.15≤z≤6.

A method for manufacturing catalyst material is provided, which includes putting an M′ target and an M″ target into a nitrogen-containing atmosphere, in which M′ is Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cr, V, Ti, Cu, or Zn, and M″ is Nb, Ta, or a combination thereof. Powers are provided to the M′ target and the M″ target, respectively. Providing ions to bombard the M′ target and the M″ target to sputtering deposit M′.sub.aM″.sub.bN.sub.2 on a substrate, wherein 0.7≤a≤1.7, 0.3≤b≤1.3, and a+b=2, wherein M′.sub.aM″.sub.bN.sub.2 is a cubic crystal system.

A three-dimensional object may be manufactured using a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technique. A layer of powder feed material may be distributed over a solid substrate and scanned with a high-energy laser beam to locally melt selective regions of the layer and form a pool of molten feed material. The pool of molten feed material may be exposed to gaseous nitrogen, carbon, or boron to respectively dissolve nitride, carbide, or boride ions into the pool of molten feed material to produce a molten nitrogen, carbon, or boron-containing solution. The molten nitrogen, carbon, or boron-containing solution may cool and solidify into a solid layer of fused nitride, carbide, or boride-containing material.