System for reducing oxygen contamination of milled silicon

1. A milling system, comprising:

a reservoir shaped and sized to carry a solvent or a slurry comprising the solvent and a material to be milled;

a treatment column in communication with the reservoir, the column configured to remove one or more of water, oxygen, or impurities from the solvent; and

a mill in fluid communication with the reservoir, the mill configured to triturate the material when carried in the solvent; wherein the treatment column is disposed before the mill relative to a drying-process flow through the milling system.

2. The milling system of claim 1 , wherein the mill is configured to mechanochemically functionalize a surface of the material to be milled.

3. The milling system of claim 1 , wherein the milling system is configured to re-circulate the solvent through the reservoir, the treatment column, and the mill.

4. The milling system of claim 3 , wherein the system includes a recirculation pump configured to circulate the solvent or the slurry to the mill and return the solvent or the slurry to the reservoir.

5. The milling system of claim 1 , wherein the treatment column is configured to be fluidly, selectively isolated from the reservoir and the mill.

6. The milling system of claim 1 , wherein the treatment column includes a desiccant.

7. The milling system of claim 6 , wherein the desiccant are molecular sieves.

8. The milling system of claim 6 , wherein the treatment column is configured for regeneration of the desiccant.

9. The milling system of claim 6 , wherein the desiccant is adapted to reduce an amount of water from the solvent; wherein the solvent includes one or more of an alkane, an alkene, an alkyne, an arene, an alkyl halide, an aryl halide, an aldehyde, a ketone, an ester, an amide, an amine, and a nitrile.

10. A method comprising:

providing a nonaqueous solvent;

circulating the solvent through a mill and a treatment column configured to remove water from the solvent;

monitoring or calculating an amount of water in the solvent; and thereafter

operating the mill to triturate a material to be milled.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said circulating further includes circulating the solvent through a reservoir shaped and sized to carry a slurry comprising the solvent and the material to be milled.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein circulating the solvent through the mill and the treatment column dries the mill; and drying the solvent to below a selected amount of water in the solvent.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising, after drying the mill,

introducing to the mill a slurry that includes the material to be milled; and

triturating the material in the mill.

14. The method of claim 10 , comprising isolating the treatment column from the mill and a reservoir during operation of the mill.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising introducing to the mill a slurry including the material to be milled; and circulating the slurry through the treatment column during operation of the mill.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the solvent includes one or more of an alkane, an alkene, an alkyne, an arene, an alkyl halide, an aryl halide, an aldehyde, a ketone, an ester, an amide, an amine, or a nitrile.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the solvent includes an alkane, an alkene, an alkyne, or an arene.

18. A method of operating a mill, comprising:

providing a nonaqueous solvent;

circulating the solvent through the mill and a treatment column configured to remove water from the solvent;

reducing an amount of water in the solvent to less than about 1000 ppm; then introducing a material to be milled into the solvent to produce a slurry; and

operating the mill to triturate the material.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein said operating comprises:

a) pumping the slurry from a first reservoir into the mill;

b) milling the slurry in the mill;

c) pumping the slurry into a second reservoir;

d) pumping the slurry from the second reservoir into the mill;

e) milling the slurry in the mill;

f) pumping the slurry into the first reservoir; and

g) repeating a-f until the material in the slurry is milled to a predetermined specification.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein said circulating further includes circulating the solvent through at least one reservoir shaped and sized to carry the slurry comprising the solvent and the material to be milled.