Patent ID: 7285261

Claim:
A process for the preparation of metal oxide nanocrystals, the process comprising reacting a metal chloride with an alkali metal oleate at a temperature of from about 30° to about 300° C. in a solvent to form a metal-oleate complex, and reacting the metal oleate complex with oleic acid at a reaction temperature of about 300° C. or above in a solvent having a boiling point higher than the reaction temperature, and precipitating and isolating the metal oxide nanocrystals, and wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals produced by the process comprise metal oxide nanocrystals selected from the group consisting of chromium oxide, vanadium oxide, molybedenum oxide, rhodium oxide, palladium oxide, ruthenium oxide, zirconium oxide, barium oxide, magnesium oxide, and calcium oxide nanocrystals.