Patent ID: 7338549

Claim:
A composite material comprising components (A) and (B), wherein component (A) is selected from compounds within general formulas (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9): A 2 BO 4-δ (4) A 2 B 2 O 5-δ (5) AO(ABO 3-δ ) n (6) AM 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (7) Bi 4 V 2(1-x) Me 2x O 11-3x , (8) A“B”O 3 (9) wherein: A is independently selected from ions of atoms having atomic numbers ranging from 57-71, inclusive, a cation of yttrium, ions of Group 1 atoms, ions of Group 2 atoms, and combinations of two or more, where Group 1 and Group 2 refer to the periodic table of elements; B is independently selected from d-block transition metal ions; A“ is an ion of Na or Li, and B” is an ion of W or Mo; M is a metal cation selected from cations of Group 2 atoms of the periodic table of elements; Me is a metal cation selected from cations of Cu, Bi, and Co atoms; x is a real number ranging from 0.01 to 1.0; n ranges from 1 to about 10; and δ ranges from about 0.05 to about 0.30, and combinations thereof, and component (B) comprises a metal selected from rhodium (Rh), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), nickel (Ni) and silver (Ag), and combinations and alloys of these metals.