Powder comprising particles comprising a matrix material and silicon-based domains dispersed in this matrix material, whereby the matrix material is carbon or a material that can be thermally decomposed to carbon, whereby either part of the silicon-based domains are present in the form of agglomerates of silicon-based domains whereby at least 98% of these agglomerates have a maximum size of 3 μm or less, or the silicon-based domains are not at all agglomerated into agglomerates.

Composites of silicon and various porous scaffold materials, such as carbon material comprising micro-, meso- and/or macropores, and methods for manufacturing the same are provided. The compositions find utility in various applications, including electrical energy storage electrodes and devices comprising the same.

This application provides a silicon-based material, a preparation method thereof, and a secondary battery, a battery module, a battery pack, and an apparatus associated therewith. The silicon-based material includes a core structure and a coating layer provided on at least partial surface of the core structure, where the core structure includes both a silicon phase and a lithium metasilicate phase, and a particle size P of the lithium metasilicate phase is ≥30 nm. The silicon-based material of this application can not only increase energy density of a secondary battery with the silicon phase, but also improve structural stability and chemical stability of the silicon-based material, so that the secondary battery can deliver satisfactory and balanced cycling performance and first-cycle coulombic efficiency in overall.

Silicon-carbon composite materials and related processes are disclosed that overcome the challenges for providing amorphous nano-sized silicon entrained within porous carbon. Compared to other, inferior materials and processes described in the prior art, the materials and processes disclosed herein find superior utility in various applications, including energy storage devices such as lithium ion batteries.

Some embodiments relate to a method for depositing a silicon precursor on a substrate. The method comprises obtaining a silicon precursor material comprising at least one siloxane linkage, and obtaining at least one co-reactant precursor material. The silicon precursor material is volatized to obtain a silicon precursor vapor. The at least one co-reactant precursor material is volatized to obtain at least one co-reactant precursor vapor. The silicon precursor vapor and the at least one co-reactant precursor vapor are contacted with the substrate, under chemical vapor deposition conditions, sufficient to form a silicon-containing film on a surface of the substrate. Some embodiments relate to silicon precursor materials for chemical vapor deposition.

Some embodiments relate to a method for depositing a silicon precursor on a substrate. The method comprises obtaining a silicon precursor material comprising at least one siloxane linkage, and obtaining at least one co-reactant precursor material. The silicon precursor material is volatized to obtain a silicon precursor vapor. The at least one co-reactant precursor material is volatized to obtain at least one co-reactant precursor vapor. The silicon precursor vapor and the at least one co-reactant precursor vapor are contacted with the substrate, under chemical vapor deposition conditions, sufficient to form a silicon-containing film on a surface of the substrate. Some embodiments relate to silicon precursor materials for chemical vapor deposition.

The present invention provides an amidinate compound represented by the following general formula (1) or a dimer compound thereof, and a method of producing a thin-film including using the compound as a raw material:

##STR00001##

where R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, R.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, M represents a metal atom or a silicon atom, and “n” represents the valence of the atom represented by M, provided that at least one hydrogen atom of R.sup.1 to R.sup.3 is substituted with a fluorine atom.

The present invention provides an amidinate compound represented by the following general formula (1) or a dimer compound thereof, and a method of producing a thin-film including using the compound as a raw material:

##STR00001##

where R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, R.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, M represents a metal atom or a silicon atom, and “n” represents the valence of the atom represented by M, provided that at least one hydrogen atom of R.sup.1 to R.sup.3 is substituted with a fluorine atom.

Silicon-carbon composite materials and related processes are disclosed that overcome the challenges for providing amorphous nano-sized silicon entrained within porous carbon. Compared to other, inferior materials and processes described in the prior art, the materials and processes disclosed herein find superior utility in various applications, including energy storage devices such as lithium ion batteries.

Particulate composite materials and devices comprising the same are provided.