Silicon particles for active materials and electro-chemical cells are provided. The active materials comprising silicon particles described herein can be utilized as an electrode material for a battery. In certain embodiments, the composite material includes greater than 0% and less than about 90% by weight of silicon particles. The silicon particles have an average particle size between about 0.1 m and about 30 m and a surface including nanometer-sized features. The composite material also includes greater than 0% and less than about 90% by weight of one or more types of carbon phases. At least one of the one or more types of carbon phases is a substantially continuous phase.

A process for preparing a component, which may constitute an interconnector for a fuel cell (SOFC) or a high-temperature electrolyser (HTE), may include: (a) preparing a substrate made of metal alloy, the base element of which is iron (Fe) or nickel (Ni), the substrate having two main flat faces; (b) tape casting a thick ceramic layer; (c) localized removal at one or more locations, of material of the tape-cast thick ceramic layer; (d) hot pressing the green thick ceramic layer tape; and (e) grooving the thick ceramic layer so as to delimit channels that are suitable for distributing and/or collecting gases. A component may be obtained from such a process.

A hot press apparatus includes a mold including: a cylindrical die, a cylindrical outer sleeve provided inside the die, and a cylindrical inner sleeve provided inside the outer sleeve; and a pair of pressing punches for pressing a sample filled into the mold. The inner sleeve has lower rigidity than the outer sleeve and is provided with a graphite sheet member including graphite on the inner side of the mold. The hardness of the outer sleeve is preferably 30 HSD or greater.

A method of fabricating a ceramic molded body for sintering, which includes molding a raw material powder containing a ceramic powder and a thermoplastic resin having a glass transition temperature higher than room temperature into a predetermined shape by isostatic pressing and in which a first-stage press-molded body is fabricated by subjecting a uniaxially press-molded body fabricated by uniaxially pressing the raw material powder into a predetermined shape or the raw material powder filled in a rubber die to a first-stage isostatic press molding at a temperature lower than a glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin and then a ceramic molded body is fabricated by heating this first-stage press-molded body to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin and performing warm isostatic press molding as second-stage isostatic press molding.

A method for manufacturing a composite bipolar plate from a composition including at least one lamellar graphite and at least one thermoplastic polymer. This method includes dry sieving of the composition with a sieve for which the mesh diameter is less than or equal to 1,000 m, dry blending of the sieved composition, deposition of the blended composition in a mold, this mold preferably being pre-heated, molding by thermocompression of the blended composition with induction heating of the mold, and removal from the mold of the thermocompressed composition leading to the obtaining of the composite bipolar plate. A composite bipolar plate manufactured by this method, to the use of this composite bipolar plate as well as to a fuel cell including such a composite bipolar plate.

Methods of forming a polycrystalline element comprise disposing a first plurality of particles comprising a superabrasive material, a second plurality of particles comprising the superabrasive material, and a catalyst material in a mold. The first and second pluralities of particles are sintered to form a polycrystalline table comprising a first region having a first permeability and a second region having a second, greater permeability. Catalyst material is at least substantially removed from the polycrystalline table. The polycrystalline table is attached to an end of a substrate, the at least a second region being interposed between the first region and the substrate. Polycrystalline elements comprise a substrate. A polycrystalline table comprising a superabrasive material and having a first region exhibiting a first permeability and at least a second region exhibiting a second, greater permeability is attached to an end of the substrate.

A skeletal composite material includes an internal skeleton structure surrounded by a matrix material. The skeleton structure and the matrix are made of different materials having different properties. It should be appreciated that the skeleton structure and the matrix can be made of any suitable material including metal, ceramic, carbon, polymers, or combinations of these materials. Preferably, the skeleton structure and/or the matrix are made primarily of metal or ceramic. The skeletal composite material can be made by filling a skeleton structure with powder, compacting the skeleton structure and powder to form a preform, and consolidating the preform to form the skeletal composite material.

Method for producing ceramic components, more particularly ceramic components having recesses and/or hollow spaces, there being at least one sintered ceramic part present. In order to improve the handling qualities of ceramic components, the sintered ceramic part can include a carrier or carrying section which is removed in the further processing from at least one ceramic component.

A method of manufacturing a core for molding a blade of a turbomachine, including placing a flexible ceramic sheet in a cavity of a mold in such a way as to shape the ceramic sheet, introducing a ceramic paste into the cavity of the mold, the ceramic paste forming at least one frame in contact with the ceramic sheet, and co-sintering the ceramic sheet and the frame in such a way as to rigidly join together the ceramic sheet and the frame, the frame maintaining the shape of the ceramic sheet given by the mold during the preceding co-sintering phases.

A method of making a super-hard article comprising a super-hard structure (14) bonded to a substrate (18), the super-hard structure comprising a sintered plurality of super-hard grains. The method includes providing raw material powder suitable for sintering the super-hard structure. The raw material powder is combined with organic binder material in a liquid medium to form paste. The content of the raw material powder is more than 60 and less than 85 mass per cent of the paste and the composition of the paste is such that it has a shear rate of at most 25 inverse second (s-.sup.1). A substrate assembly is provided, which comprises the substrate, having a formation surface area configured for forming a boundary of the super-hard structure, the substrate comprising a recess coterminous with the formation surface area. The paste is extruded into contact with the formation surface area to provide a paste assembly. The paste assembly is heat treated to remove the binder material and provide a pre-sinter assembly. The pre-sinter assembly is subjected to a pressure and temperature sufficient to sinter the raw material powder and transform it into the super-hard structure bonded to the substrate at a boundary coterminous with the formation surface area. The super-hard material is diamond or cubic boron nitride.