Patent ID: 7559494

Claim:
A method of forming a non-stoichiometric nanoscale powder having one or more modified properties comprising: selecting a powder form of a stoichiometric metal compound comprising at least one metal and at least one element selected from the group consisting of: C, O, N, B, S, H, Se, Te, In, Sb, Al, Ni, F, P, Cl, Br, I, Si, and Ge; adding at least one dopant element to the metal compound to form a mixture, wherein the at least one dopant element has a valency different than a valency of an electropositive element in the metal compound; processing the mixture at a temperature greater than the solid state reaction temperature of the mixture to produce a non-stoichiometric nanoscale powder form of a substance comprising the at least one dopant element and the metal compound, wherein the at least one dopant element is combined in the lattice of the metal compound and wherein the resulting compound comprises three or more elements; wherein combining the at least one dopant element into the lattice of the metal compound modifies at least one property of the metal compound; and the nanoscale powder form of the substance is substantially compositionally uniform.