Coatings on particles of high energy materials and methods of forming same

A particle coating, comprising:

• wherein the coating is characterizable by a humidity resistance such that, when formed over a core that is metallic or semi-metallic and comprises hydrogen and/or an alkali or alkaline earth element, and when held at 45° C. for 18 hours and exposed to a flow of Argon gas humidified by flowing through a water-filled bubbler at 13° C. and 10 psig, and passed over the surfaces of the particles, a TGA of the composition shows an increase in weight of 1.0% or less, preferably 0.5 wt % or less, more preferably 0.2 wt % or less;
• wherein a TGA of the uncoated core particle under the same conditions would exhibit an increase in weight of greater than 1.0% and further comprising one or more of the following characteristics:
• wherein the coating has a thickness of 10 nm or less (or 5 nm or less) over at least 30% (or at least 50%, or at least 70%) of the surface area of the particle cores in the composition;
• or
• wherein the coating comprises an oxide, nitride, halide or phosphate of a metal, metalloid or non-metal, and wherein the coating comprises a first interdiffusion layer that comprises 60-90% lithium or aluminum, a second interdiffusion layer that comprises 10-40% lithium or aluminum, or both.

A method of making a coated particle, comprising:

• providing core particles having particle surfaces and moving the core particles to expose the particle surfaces in a first reaction chamber;
• first dosing the core particles with an amount of first precursor that is less than that required to fully saturate all the surfaces to form first coated particles;
• after the first dosing, evacuate or purge the first reaction chamber, and/or transport the first coated particles to a second reaction chamber;
• second dosing the first coated particles with an amount of first precursor that is less than that required to fully saturate all the surfaces on the core particles to form second coated particles in the first reaction chamber or the second reaction chamber;
• after the second dosing, evacuate or purge the reaction chamber used in the second dosing step;
• and third dosing the second coated particles with a second precursor wherein the second precursor reacts with the coated particles to form a passivation coating on the core particles;
• there is no step of reacting with a second precursor between the first dosing and the second dosing.