The invention relates to a coating method for energetic material (12), in particular in a vacuum. The energetic material (12) is coated by chemical or physical vapor deposition. The coating material (16) is electrically conductive and/or hydrophobic or hydrophilic. The energetic material (12) is shaped as grains and/or pellets and/or is in the form of a powder.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for carrying out rapid on-site optical chemical analysis in oil feeds are described. In one aspect, a system for manufacture of a tool includes a deposition reactor configured for molecular layer deposition or atomic layer deposition of metal powder to manufacture coated particles, a fabrication unit configured for 3D printing of the tool, and a controller that controls the deposition reactor and the fabrication unit, wherein the fabrication unit and the deposition reactor are integrated for automated fabrication of the tool using the coated particles from the deposition reactor as building material for the 3D printing.

A nanoparticle having a solid core comprising a biologically active substance, said core being enclosed by an inorganic coating, a method for preparing the nanoparticle, and the use of the nanoparticle in therapy. A kit comprising the nanoparticle and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the nanoparticle.

Reactor designs and process steps are provided for accomplishing vibro-thermally assisted chemical vapor infiltration (VTA-CVI). The provided reactors and processes overcome the challenges for manufacturing composite materials from porous scaffolds. Such reactors and processes find utility in various applications, including production of battery materials, including silicon-carbon composites suitable as anode materials for lithium ion batteries.

A metal or ceramic layer may be deposited on nuclear materials by chemical vapor deposition using a non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor. The chemical vapor deposition is carried out by a method including steps of introducing nuclear fuel particles into a fluidized bed reactor, and heating the fluidized bed reactor to a desired operating temperature T.sub.1. A flow of a carrier- gas is initiated through a vaporizer, and the non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor is injected into the vaporizer and vaporized. A first mixture of the carrier gas and the vaporized non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor may be mixed with a gaseous carbon source, a gaseous nitrogen source, a gaseous oxygen source, or a mixture thereof to produce a second mixture; and the second mixture flows into the fluidized bed reactor at operating temperature T.sub.1, allowing deposition of a desired ceramic coating on the particles. The non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor may be a compound of Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, W, V, Ti, or a mixture thereof.

A metal or ceramic layer may be deposited on nuclear materials by chemical vapor deposition using a non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor. The chemical vapor deposition is carried out by a method including steps of introducing nuclear fuel particles into a fluidized bed reactor, and heating the fluidized bed reactor to a desired operating temperature T.sub.1. A flow of a carrier- gas is initiated through a vaporizer, and the non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor is injected into the vaporizer and vaporized. A first mixture of the carrier gas and the vaporized non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor may be mixed with a gaseous carbon source, a gaseous nitrogen source, a gaseous oxygen source, or a mixture thereof to produce a second mixture; and the second mixture flows into the fluidized bed reactor at operating temperature T.sub.1, allowing deposition of a desired ceramic coating on the particles. The non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor may be a compound of Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, W, V, Ti, or a mixture thereof.

A reactor for coating particles includes one or more motors, a rotary vacuum chamber configured to hold particles to be coated, wherein the rotary vacuum chamber is coupled to the motors, a controller configured to cause the motors to rotate the rotary vacuum chamber about an axial axis of the rotary vacuum chamber such that the particles undergo tumbling agitation, a vacuum port to exhaust gas from the rotary vacuum chamber, a paddle assembly including a rotatable drive shaft extending through the rotary vacuum chamber and coupled to the motors and at least one paddle extending radially from the drive shaft, such that rotation of the drive shaft by the motors orbits the paddle about the drive shaft in a second direction, and a chemical delivery system including a gas outlet on the paddle configured inject process gas into the particles.

A reactor for coating particles includes one or more motors, a rotary vacuum chamber configured to hold particles to be coated, wherein the rotary vacuum chamber is coupled to the motors, a controller configured to cause the motors to rotate the rotary vacuum chamber about an axial axis of the rotary vacuum chamber such that the particles undergo tumbling agitation, a vacuum port to exhaust gas from the rotary vacuum chamber, a paddle assembly including a rotatable drive shaft extending through the rotary vacuum chamber and coupled to the motors and at least one paddle extending radially from the drive shaft, such that rotation of the drive shaft by the motors orbits the paddle about the drive shaft in a second direction, and a chemical delivery system including a gas outlet on the paddle configured inject process gas into the particles.

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.

A method of coating particles includes dispensing particles into a vacuum chamber to form a particle bed in at least a lower portion of the chamber that forms a half-cylinder, evacuating the chamber through a vacuum port in an upper portion of the chamber, rotating a paddle assembly such that a plurality of paddles orbit a drive shaft to stir the particles in the particle bed, injecting a reactant or precursor gas through a plurality of channels into the lower portion of the chamber as the paddle assembly rotates to coat the particles, and injecting the reactant or precursor gas or a purge gas through the plurality of channels at a sufficiently high velocity such that the reactant or precursor a purge gas de-agglomerates particles in the particle bed.