A positive electrode active material includes: a particle including a lithium composite oxide; a first layer that is provided on a surface of the particle and includes a lithium composite oxide; and a second layer that is provided on a surface of the first layer. The lithium composite oxide included in the particle and the lithium composite oxide included in the first layer have the same composition or almost the same composition, the second layer includes an oxide or a fluoride, and the lithium composite oxide included in the first layer has lower crystallinity than the lithium composite oxide included in the particle.

The present disclosure is drawn to a method for producing magnetite comprising the steps of: forming a ferrous ion solution; forming a ferric ion solution; and mixing and heating the ferrous ion solution and the ferric ion solution with a boric ion solution to precipitate magnetite. The disclosure is drawn to a borate method for producing magnetite wherein a ferrous ion compound and a ferric ion compound, in stoichiometric ratio of 1:2, are precipitated with a boric ion compound.

A method of making boron oxide nanoparticles. The method can comprise sonochemically treating a composition comprising a boron oxide to form boron oxide nanoparticles. The method allows for the formation of these nanoparticles from non-toxic, inexpensive reagents and ambient reaction conditions. Additionally, the nanoparticles produced by the teachings described herein can be easily surface functionalized.

The present disclosure is directed to a process. In an embodiment, the process includes providing a boric acid solution composed of from 10 wt % to 25 wt % boric acid at a temperature from 60 C. to less than 100 C. to form a heated boric acid solution. The process includes first passing the heated boric acid solution through a first nanofiltration membrane at a pressure from 300 psi to 500 psi to form a first heated boron permeate and second passing the first heated boron permeate through a second nanofiltration membrane at a pressure from 300 psi to 500 psi and forming a second heated boron permeate. The second heated boron permeate is composed of at least 10 wt % boric acid, less than 5 ppm sodium, and less than 5 ppm of a component selected from calcium, lithium, sulfur, and silicon.

The extraction system contains secondary amides and alkyl alcohols which are separately used as the extractants for extracting lithium and boron and consist of a single compound or a mixture of two or more compounds, and the total number of carbon atoms in their molecules are 1218 and 820 respectively; the extraction system has a freezing point less than 0 C. With a volume ratio of an organic phase and a brine phase being 110:1, at a brine density of 1.251.38 g/cm.sup.3, at a brine pH value of 07 and at a temperature of 050 C., a single-stage or multi-stage countercurrent extraction and a stripping are conducted to obtain a water phase with a low magnesium-lithium ratio, which is subjected to concentration, impurity removal and preparation to get lithium chloride, lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and boric acid respectively. Water is used for stripping, greatly reducing the consumption of acid and base.

A method and a device are disclosed for converting at least one reactant into a reaction product and separating the at least one reactant. The device includes a vessel with a vessel inner volume and a confinement, submerged in the vessel inner volume, that provides a confinement inner volume in fluid connection with the vessel inner volume. First and seconds fluids, with a respective, higher first density and a lower, second density form respective lower and upper phases in the vessel inner volume. A third fluid with a third density higher than that of the second fluid forms a lower layer in the confinement inner volume, relative to an upper layer formed by the second fluid. The third fluid may be the same as or different from, and is physically separated from, the first fluid. At least one of the first, second, and third fluids is at most partly miscible with the other two, but preferably immiscible. The at least one reactant and the reaction product have different affinities for at least two of the first, second, and third fluids, and at least one of the first and third fluid contains a fourth phase which is a solid or semi solid and is capable of promoting the conversion.

The present invention generally discloses a metalloid metal oxide coating composition of Formula (I) for the alkali mixed metal oxide based battery cathode. The coating of said composition reduces reaction based degradation of the cathode as well as electrolyte, thereby improving performance, cycle life, and rate capacity of the battery. The present invention further relates to a method of preparing the coated cathode active material and process thereof.