A method for removing boron is provided, which includes (a) mixing a carbon source material and a silicon source material in a chamber to form a solid state mixture, (b) heating the solid state mixture to a temperature of 1000° C. to 1600° C., and adjusting the pressure of the chamber to 1 torr to 100 torr. The method also includes (c) conducting a gas mixture of a first carrier gas and water vapor into the chamber to remove boron from the solid state mixture, and (d) conducting a second carrier gas into the chamber.

A method for removing boron is provided, which includes (a) mixing a carbon source material and a silicon source material in a chamber to form a solid state mixture, (b) heating the solid state mixture to a temperature of 1000° C. to 1600° C., and adjusting the pressure of the chamber to 1 torr to 100 torr. The method also includes (c) conducting a gas mixture of a first carrier gas and water vapor into the chamber to remove boron from the solid state mixture, and (d) conducting a second carrier gas into the chamber.

The present disclosure relates to an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery, a method of manufacturing the anode active material, and a lithium secondary battery including the anode active material. The anode active material includes natural graphite particles configured such that flaky natural graphite fragment particles having uneven (□□) surface defects are structured in a cabbage shape or at random and granulated, the surface and the inside of the natural graphite particles including a gap formed between the flaky natural graphite fragment particles, and a coating layer including amorphous or semicrystalline carbon formed on the surface of the flaky natural graphite fragment particles that form the gap and the surface of the natural graphite particles.

There is provided a multi-layered membrane comprising a top layer, a bottom layer, and a spacer layer; wherein said spacer layer is interposed between said top layer and said bottom layer; wherein said top layer, said bottom layer and said spacer layer are each independently composed of one or more selective layers, each selective layer comprising a 2D material; wherein said spacer layer comprises at least one channel for receiving a fluid; wherein said bottom layer comprises a hole with an area in the range of 1 μm.sup.2 to 1 mm.sup.2; and wherein said hole is capable of being in fluid communication with said at least one channels of said spacer layer.

There is also provided a method to synthesize the top layer of a multi-layered membrane as disclosed herein, methods for separating a plurality of ions or molecules in a fluid stream, a device comprising a multi-layered membrane as disclosed herein, and use of the method or the device as disclosed herein in osmotic power generation.

An electrode material for a lithium ion secondary battery and method of forming the same, the electrode material including composite particles, each composite particle including: a primary particle including an electrochemically active material; and an envelope disposed on the surface of the primary particle. The envelope includes turbostratic carbon having a Raman spectrum having: a D band having a peak intensity (I.sub.D) at wave number between 1330 cm.sup.−1 and 1360 cm.sup.−1; a G band having a peak intensity (I.sub.G) at wave number between 1530 cm.sup.−1 and 1580 cm.sup.−1; and a 2D band having a peak intensity (I.sub.2D) at wave number between 2650 cm.sup.−1 and 2750 cm.sup.−1. In one embodiment, a ratio of I.sub.D/I.sub.G ranges from greater than zero to about 1.1, and a ratio of I.sub.2D/I.sub.G ranges from about 0.4 to about 2.

A silicon material can include a composition with at least about 50% silicon, at most about 45% carbon, and at most about 10 % oxygen. The silicon material can have an external expansion that is less than about 40%. The silicon material can include silicon nanoparticles, which can cooperatively form clusters. The silicon nanoparticles can be porous.

Disclosed herein are dendritically porous three-dimensional structures, including hierarchical dendritically porous three-dimensional structures. The structures include metal foams and graphite structures, and are useful in energy storage devices as well as chemical catalysis.

Provided is a shortened fibrous carbon nanohorn aggregate (CNB) obtained by shortening a CNB having a length of 1 μm or more and a diameter in the short direction in the range of 30 to 100 nm, by oxidizing, stirring in an acid solution, subjecting to an ultrasonic treatment in a liquid, followed by cutting. The shortened CNB has an end surface on which no tip of the plurality of single-walled carbon nanohorns is disposed toward the longitudinal direction at least one end in the longitudinal direction, and has an excellent dispersibility by shortening the length to less than 1 μm.

Provided is a shortened fibrous carbon nanohorn aggregate (CNB) obtained by shortening a CNB having a length of 1 μm or more and a diameter in the short direction in the range of 30 to 100 nm, by oxidizing, stirring in an acid solution, subjecting to an ultrasonic treatment in a liquid, followed by cutting. The shortened CNB has an end surface on which no tip of the plurality of single-walled carbon nanohorns is disposed toward the longitudinal direction at least one end in the longitudinal direction, and has an excellent dispersibility by shortening the length to less than 1 μm.

A negative active material includes a carbon material. The carbon material satisfies the following relationship: 6<Gr/K<16, Gr is a graphitization degree of the carbon material, measured by X-ray diffraction; and K is a ratio Id/Ig of a peak intensity Id of the carbon material at a wavenumber of 1250 cm.sup.−1 to 1650 cm.sup.−1 to a peak intensity Ig of the carbon material at a wavenumber of 1500 cm.sup.−1 to 1650 cm.sup.−1, and is measured by using Raman spectroscopy, and K is 0.06 to 0.15.