A cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of a lithium-transition metal composite oxide particle having a shape of a secondary particle in which a plurality of primary particles are aggregated. The lithium-transition metal composite oxide particle includes a lithium-molybdenum-containing portion having a hexagonal close-packed structure formed between the primary particles.

The epsilon polymorph of vanadyl phosphate, ε-VOPO.sub.4, made from the solvothermally synthesized H.sub.2VOPO.sub.4, is a high density cathode material for lithium-ion batteries optimized to reversibly intercalate two Li-ions to reach the full theoretical capacity at least 50 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of 98%. This material adopts a stable 3D tunnel structure and can extract two Li-ions per vanadium ion, giving a theoretical capacity of 305 mAh/g, with an upper charge/discharge plateau at around 4.0 V, and one lower at around 2.5 V.

Provided are a barium titanate powder having spherical shape fine particles which have an average particle diameter (D.sub.50) in a range of about 140-270 nm, a tetragonal structure having a markedly improved tetragonality (c/a) in a range of 1.007-1.01 in contrast to the conventional composition, and at the same time, a markedly improved crystallinity in a range of 93-96%, thereby showing improved dielectric properties, and a manufacturing method thereof.

Provided are a magnetic recording medium including: a non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer which is provided on at least one surface of the non-magnetic support and includes particles of epsilon type iron oxide-based compound, and a binding agent, in which a contact angle measured regarding a surface of the magnetic layer is equal to or greater than 30.0° and smaller than 45.0° with respect to 1-bromonaphthalene and 80.0° to 95.0° with respect to water, a manufacturing method of particles of an epsilon iron oxide-based compound, and a manufacturing method of a magnetic recording medium.

A method for forming a diamond product. Diamond material is provided and a damage layer comprising sp.sup.2 bonded carbon is formed in the material. The presence of the damage layer defines a first diamond layer above and in contact with the damage layer and a second diamond layer below and in contact with the damage layer. The damage layer is electrochemically etched to separate it from the first layer, wherein the electrochemical etching is performed in a solution containing ions, the solution having an electrical conductivity of at least 500 μS cm.sup.−1, and wherein the ions are capable of forming radicals during electrolysis. The diamond product is also described.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method includes: (a) preparing a liquid cell containing a palladium precursor solution; (b) applying electron beams to the palladium precursor solution contained in the liquid cell; and (c) generating palladium hydride nanoparticles having the hcp crystal structure in the palladium precursor solution.

A carbon nanotube assembly satisfies at least one of the following conditions (1) to (3): (1) an FT-IR spectrum of a CNT dispersion obtained by dispersing the CNT assembly has a peak based on plasmon resonance of the CNTs in a wave number range of greater than 300 cm.sup.−1 and 2000 cm.sup.−1 or less; (2) the highest peak in a differential pore capacity distribution of the CNT assembly is located within a pore size range of more than 100 nm and less than 400 nm; and (3) a two-dimensional spatial frequency spectrum of an electronic micrographic image of the CNT assembly has at least one peak within a range of 1 μm.sup.−1 or more and 100 μm.sup.−1 or less.

This invention discloses a boron-containing titanium-based composite powder for 3D printing, consisting of 0.5%-2% by weight of titanium diboride and 98%-99.5% by weight of titanium sponge. The invention further discloses a method of preparing such composite powder, where the element boron is introduced to the titanium powder through rapid solidification, which significantly improves the solid solubility of boron in Ti, enabling the introduction of part of the boron into the titanium matrix to form supersaturated solid solutions. The reinforcement phase TiB in the boron-containing titanium-based composite powder prepared herein can be precisely controlled in grain size ranging from the nanometer scale to the micrometer scale through temperature or energy density, thereby preparing the titanium-based composite materials with different sizes of reinforcement phases to meet different mechanical requirements.

An electrochromic device comprising a substrate, a set of electrodes disposed on or within the substrate, and a layer comprising ε-WO3 disposed in electrical communication with the set of electrodes, wherein the layer of ε-WO3 exhibits polarization switching are described. Methods of making and using the electrochromic devices are also described. The electrochromic devices are used for detecting acetone in a fluid. The observed change in color of the ε-WO3 layer can be correlated with a subject's medical condition, such as diabetes.

When silicone is used to fill joints in surfaces on which vehicles drive, it is advantageous if the silicone contains zinc oxide in the form of tetrapod-shaped crystals.