A silicon-carbon composite material includes a matrix core, a silicon-carbon composite shell formed by uniformly dispersing nano silicon particles in conductive carbon, and a coating layer. The nano silicon particles are formed by high-temperature pyrolysis of a silicon source, and the conductive carbon is formed by high-temperature pyrolysis of an organic carbon source. The coating layer is a carbon coating layer including at least one layer, and the thickness of its single layer is 0.2-3 μm. A silicon-carbon composite material precursor is formed by simultaneous vapor deposition and is then subjected to carbon coating to form the pitaya-like silicon-carbon composite material which has advantages of high first-cycle efficiency, low expansion and long cycle. The grain growth of the silicon material is slowed down during the heat treatment process, the pulverization of the material is effectively avoided, and the cycle performance, conductivity and rate performance of the material are enhanced.

A coated powder composite may include a core particle of Ca or an alloy thereof, or of Mg or an alloy thereof. One or more coating layers may be disposed about the core particle, cladding the core particle. The coated powder composite may be biodegradable.

Discussed herein are methods for making an anode material comprising silicon nanoparticles and a graphite carbon coating thereon. The method can include providing silicon nanoparticles, applying an amorphous carbon coating thereon to create an amorphous carbon shell on the silicon nanoparticles at a first temperature, and converting the amorphous carbon shell to a graphite carbon shell at a second temperature higher than the first temperature. The method can optionally include producing silicon nanoparticles by providing an argon-silane mixture, exposing the argon-silane mixture to a non-thermal plasma to convert the silane mixture to amorphous clusters, and passing the amorphous clusters through a furnace at a first temperature so as to agglomerate them to silicon nanoparticles.

A reactor for coating particles includes a vacuum chamber configured to hold particles to be coated, a vacuum port to exhaust gas from the vacuum chamber via the outlet of the vacuum chamber, a chemical delivery system configured to flow a process gas into the particles via a gas inlet on the vacuum chamber, one or more vibrational actuators located on a first mounting surface of the vacuum chamber, and a controller configured to cause the one or more vibrational actuators to generate a vibrational motion in the vacuum chamber sufficient to induce a vibrational motion in the particles held within the vacuum chamber.

A reactor for forming fully coated particles having a solid core, the reactor comprises a reactor vessel which is configured to receive particles, and a gas phase coating mechanism that is configured to selectively introduce pulses of gas phase materials that form a coating on the particles. The reactor also includes a sieve (16) that is located within the reactor vessel, and a forcing means that is configured to force the particles through the sieve (16) in use. The sieve is configured to deagglomerate any particle aggregates formed in the reactor vessel upon forcing of the particles by the forcing means through the sieve.

Method for manufacturing an inert solid support with optionally functionalised carbon nanotubes (CNTs), comprising the steps of: i) providing an inert solid support and at least one catalytic metal associated with, or absorbed in, or adsorbed/deposited on, said support, said metal being optionally selected from among the group consisting of iron, cobalt, nickel, molybdenum and combinations thereof; ii) supplying a source of gaseous, liquid or solid carbon to the catalytic metal; iii) through chemical vapor deposition (CVD), depositing at least part of the carbon source at the catalytic metal as CNTs, stably connected to the inert solid support. The present invention further regards an inert solid support and a separation method.

Disclosed is a coating chamber having a process passage in which a coating process is performed, a particle supply means configured to supply nanoparticles into the process passage, a gas supply means configured to supply a carrier gas and a reactive gas serving as a source of a shell material into the process passage, and a low pressure forming means configured to form a low pressure in the process passage. The coating chamber has a speed adjustment member formed of a porous material or a grid and installed in the process passage, and as a moving speed of the nanoparticles is decreased due to flow resistance or collision of the nanoparticles passing through the speed adjustment member, first and second precursors supplied as the reactive gas move more rapidly than the nanoparticles to coat a thin film on the nanoparticles with the material.

A coating apparatus, and particularly, an atomic layer deposition apparatus. The atomic layer deposition apparatus consecutively coats the surfaces of powder particles with different kinds of materials.

A method and system for coating metallic powder particles is provided. The method includes: disposing an amount of metallic powder particulates within a fluidizing reactor; removing moisture adhered to the powder particles disposed within the reactor using a working gas; coating the powder particles disposed within the reactor using a precursor gas; and purging the precursor gas from the reactor using the working gas.

A reactor for coating particles includes a stationary vacuum chamber to hold a bed of particles to be coated, a chemical delivery system, and a paddle assembly. The paddle assembly includes a rotatable drive shaft and a first plurality of paddles and a second plurality of paddles that extend radially from the drive shaft. The spacing, cross-sections, and oblique angles of the paddles are such that orbiting of the paddles causes the first plurality of paddles and the second plurality of paddles to displace substantially equal volumes in opposite directions in the lower portion of the stationary vacuum chamber.