A method for producing amorphous silica includes: a pretreatment process of pulverizing vegetable material to obtain a silica source; a burning process of burning the silica source and extracting silica; and a purification process of removing carbon from burning material obtained in the burning process. The burning process includes a heating process of supplying an inert gas into a chamber and heating the silica source in the chamber in a plasma atmosphere.

A composite fiber includes a porous silicon phase including elemental silicon and a porous carbon phase including elemental carbon. The silicon phase and the carbon phase form an intertwined network structure in the composite fiber such that each of the silicon phase and the carbon phase is interconnected and continuous throughout the composite fiber. The silicon phase and the carbon phase together constitute at least 50 wt % of the composite fiber.

A method of manufacturing porous silicon particles includes providing a rotary tube furnace including a tube extending between a first opening and a second opening opposite the first opening. The method includes providing a silica precursor, a metal reducing agent, and a thermal moderator as a mixture to an interior cavity of the tube through the first opening. The method includes rotating the tube containing the mixture. The method includes performing a thermal treatment to the mixture in the tube to produce a reaction product that includes the porous silicon particles. The method further includes collecting the reaction product at the second opening, where the steps of providing the mixture, rotating the tube, performing the thermal treatment, and collecting the reaction product are performed concurrently such that the porous silicon particles are produced in a continuous manner.

A method of manufacturing porous silicon particles includes providing a rotary tube furnace including a tube extending between a first opening and a second opening opposite the first opening. The method includes providing a silica precursor, a metal reducing agent, and a thermal moderator as a mixture to an interior cavity of the tube through the first opening. The method includes rotating the tube containing the mixture. The method includes performing a thermal treatment to the mixture in the tube to produce a reaction product that includes the porous silicon particles. The method further includes collecting the reaction product at the second opening, where the steps of providing the mixture, rotating the tube, performing the thermal treatment, and collecting the reaction product are performed concurrently such that the porous silicon particles are produced in a continuous manner.

It is the object of the present invention to present a method of producing silicon, characterized by mixing silicon dioxide and at least one metal oxide at an elevated temperate wherein said oxide and silicon form a eutectic mixture or eutectic system.

A super hard polycrystalline construction is disclosed as comprising a first region comprising a body of thermally stable polycrystalline diamond material comprising a plurality of intergrown grains of diamond material; a second region forming a substrate to the first region; and a third region interposed between the first and second regions. The third region extends across a surface of the second region along an interface. The interface comprises at least a portion having an uneven topology, and the third region comprises a diamond composite material including a first phase comprising a plurality of non-intergrown super hard grains, said super hard grains comprising diamond grains; and a matrix material. The superhard material and matrix material of the third region form a diamond composite material which is more acid resistant than polycrystalline diamond material having a binder-catalyst phase comprising cobalt, and/or more acid resistant than cemented tungsten carbide material.

Various embodiments provide glass bottle-based silicon electrode materials. A battery electrode includes silicon made from magnesiothermic reduction of silicon oxide derived from glass bottles and a conformal carbon coating thereon. A method of making the electrode material includes crushing glass bottles to produce crushed glass containing silicon oxide particles, mixing the silicon oxide particles with a heat scavenger to produce a mixture, magnesiothermically reducing the mixture to produce silicon, and applying a carbon coat to the silicon to produce an electrode material.

Disclosed is a net-shaped polyimide sponge. The polyimide sponge has a stack structure of nets. Also disclosed is a method for producing a polyimide sponge. The method enables the production of a polyimide sponge in a continuous process, which offers advantages for large-scale production compared to conventional methods using batch systems.

Disclosed is a net-shaped polyimide sponge. The polyimide sponge has a stack structure of nets. Also disclosed is a method for producing a polyimide sponge. The method enables the production of a polyimide sponge in a continuous process, which offers advantages for large-scale production compared to conventional methods using batch systems.

A silicon-containing structure including: a silicon composite including a porous silicon secondary particle and a first carbon flake on a surface of the porous silicon secondary particle; a carbonaceous coating layer on the porous silicon composite, the carbonaceous coating layer comprising a first amorphous carbon; and the silicon composite comprises a second amorphous carbon and has a density that is equal to or less than a density of the carbonaceous coating layer, wherein the porous silicon secondary particle includes an aggregate of silicon composite primary particles, each including silicon, a silicon suboxide on a surface of the silicon, and a second carbon flake on a surface of the silicon suboxide.