Treatment of deagglomerated particles with plasma-activated species

A method for treating agglomerated particulate materials comprising primary particles associated together, wherein said materials exhibit irreversible thermal degradation when heated above a threshold temperature, said method comprising the steps of:

• i introducing a plasma-activated process gas into a treatment chamber, said process gas being produced by a plasma source positioned in said treatment chamber or upstream of the treatment chamber,
• ii deagglomerating said materials into particle fractions of no more than about thirty times the average size dimension of said primary particles to expose the surfaces of substantially all of said particle fractions,
• iii contacting the particle fractions with at least one species of the plasma-activated process gas in the treatment chamber to functionalize the surfaces of substantially all of said particle fractions before reagglomeration can occur to any substantial degree, and
• iv controlling process temperature of the deagglomerated particle fractions below the threshold temperature to produce surface functionalized particle fractions.