Abstract: A flame-resistant composite separator for use in a lithium battery, wherein the composite separator comprises at least a first layer and a second layer laminated together, wherein: (A) the first layer comprises a layer of inorganic solid electrolyte (e.g., a sintered solid structure) or a layer of polymer composite comprising 60%-99% by volume of inorganic material particles, inorganic material fibers, and/or polymer fibers dispersed in or bonded by a first polymer; and (B) the second layer comprises a second polymer and from 0.1% to 50% by weight of a lithium salt dispersed in the second polymer; wherein the first layer and the second layer each has a thickness from 20 nm to 100 ?m and a lithium-ion conductivity from 10?8 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm at room temperature.

Abstract: A graphene foam-protected selenium cathode layer for an alkali metal-selenium cell, comprising: (a) a sheet or a roll of solid graphene foam composed of multiple pores and pore walls containing graphene sheets, wherein the graphene sheets contain a pristine graphene material having less than 0.01% by weight of non-carbon elements or a non-pristine graphene material having 0.01% to 20% by weight of non-carbon elements, wherein said non-pristine graphene is selected from graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated graphene, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof, wherein the graphene sheets are interconnected or chemically merged together without an adhesive resin; and (b) selenium coating or particles residing in the pores or bonded to the pore walls of the solid graphene foam.

Abstract: Provided is a multivalent metal-ion battery comprising an anode, a cathode, a porous separator electronically separating the anode and the cathode, and an electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode and the cathode to support reversible deposition and dissolution of a multivalent metal, selected from Ni, Zn, Be, Mg, Ca, Ba, La, Ti, Ta, Zr, Nb, Mn, V, Co, Fe, Cd, Cr, Ga, In, or a combination thereof, at the anode, wherein the anode contains the multivalent metal or its alloy as an anode active material and the cathode comprises a cathode layer of an exfoliated graphite or carbon material recompressed to form an active layer that is oriented in such a manner that the active layer has a graphite edge plane in direct contact with the electrolyte and facing or contacting the separator.

Abstract: Provided is a battery charging system comprising (a) at least one charging circuit to charge at least one rechargeable battery cell; (b) a heat source to provide heat that is transported through a heat spreader element, implemented fully or partially inside said at least one battery cell, to heat up the battery cell to a desired temperature Tc before or during battery charging; and (c) cooling means in thermal contact with the heat spreader element configured to enable transporting internal heat of the battery cell through the heat spreader element to the cooling means when the battery cell is discharged. Charging the battery at Tc enables completion of the battery in less than 15 minutes, typically less than 10 minutes, and more typically less than 5 minutes without adversely impacting the battery structure and performance.

Abstract: Provided is an anode active material layer for a lithium battery. This layer comprises multiple particulates of an anode active material, wherein at least a particulate is composed of one or a plurality of particles of a high-capacity anode active material being encapsulated by a thin layer of elastomeric material that has a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10?7 S/cm (preferably no less than 10?5 S/cm) at room temperature and an encapsulating shell thickness from 1 nm to 10 ?m, and wherein the high-capacity anode active material (e.g. Si, Ge, Sn, SnO2, Co3O4, etc.) has a specific capacity of lithium storage greater than 372 mAh/g (the theoretical lithium storage limit of graphite).

Abstract: A process for producing a highly conducting film of conductor-bonded graphene sheets that are highly oriented, comprising: (a) preparing a graphene dispersion or graphene oxide (GO) gel; (b) depositing the dispersion or gel onto a supporting solid substrate under a shear stress to form a wet layer; (c) drying the wet layer to form a dried layer having oriented graphene sheets or GO molecules with an inter-planar spacing d002 of 0.4 nm to 1.2 nm; (d) heat treating the dried layer at a temperature from 55° C. to 3,200° C. for a desired length of time to produce a porous graphitic film having pores and constituent graphene sheets or a 3D network of graphene pore walls having an inter-planar spacing d002 less than 0.4 nm; and (e) impregnating the porous graphitic film with a conductor material that bonds the constituent graphene sheets or graphene pore walls to form the conducting film.

Abstract: Provided is a porous graphene particulate comprising a graphene shell encapsulating a porous core, wherein the porous core comprises one or a plurality of pores and pore walls and a lithium-attracting metal or sodium-attracting metal residing in the pores or deposited on pore walls; wherein the lithium-attracting or sodium-attracting metal is selected from Au, Ag, Mg, Zn, Ti, Li, Na, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Sn, V, Cr, or an alloy thereof and is in an amount of 0.1% to 90% of the total particulate weight, and the shell comprises multiple single-layer or few-layer graphene sheets. Also provided is a powder mass, anode, or battery that contains one or a plurality of such porous particulates.

Abstract: Provided is a vapor-based heat transfer apparatus (e.g. a vapor chamber or a heat pipe), comprising: a hollow structure having a hollow chamber enclosed inside a sealed envelope or container made of a thermally conductive material, a wick structure in contact with one or a plurality of walls of the hollow structure, and a working liquid within the hollow structure and in contact with the wick structure, wherein the wick structure comprises a graphene material and the hollow structure walls comprise an evaporator wall having a first surface plane and a condenser wall having a second surface plane, wherein multiple sheets of the graphene material in the wick structure are aligned to be substantially parallel to one another and perpendicular to at least one of the first surface plane and the second surface plane. Also provided is a process for producing this apparatus.

Abstract: A method of producing isolated graphene oxide sheets directly from a graphitic material, comprising: a) mixing multiple particles of a graphitic material, an optional oxidizing liquid, and multiple particles of a solid carrier material to form a mixture in an impacting chamber of an energy impacting apparatus; b) operating the energy impacting apparatus with a frequency and an intensity for a length of time sufficient for peeling off graphene sheets from the graphitic material and transferring the graphene sheets to surfaces of the solid carrier material particles to produce graphene-coated solid carrier particles inside the impacting chamber; and c) sequentially or concurrently oxidizing and separating the graphene sheets from the solid carrier material particle surfaces to produce isolated graphene oxide sheets. The process is fast (1-4 hours as opposed to 5-120 hours of conventional processes), has low or no water usage, environmentally benign, cost effective, and highly scalable.

Abstract: Provided is a rechargeable battery comprising an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte disposed between the anode and the cathode, a protective housing that at least partially encloses the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte, a heat-spreader element disposed at least partially inside the protective housing and configured to receive heat from an external heat source at a desired heating temperature Th to heat up the battery to a desired temperature Tc for battery charging. Preferably, the heat-spreader element does not receive an electrical current from an external circuit (e.g. battery charger) to generate heat for resistance heating of the battery. Charging the battery at Tc enables completion of the battery in less than 15 minutes, typically less than 10 minutes, and more typically less than 5 minutes without adversely impacting the battery structure and performance.

Abstract: An anode for a lithium battery comprises a graphene foam structure composed of multiple pores and pore walls and Si nanowires residing in the pores. The Si nanowires are formed in situ inside the pores. The pore walls comprise a 3D network of interconnected graphene planes or stacked graphene planes having an inter-plane spacing d002 from 0.3354 nm to 0.40 nm as measured by X-ray diffraction. The Si nanowires have a diameter from 2 nm to 100 nm and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5 and the Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of the graphene foam and the Si nanowires combined.

Abstract: Provided is a graphene foam-based sealing material comprising: (a) a graphene foam framework comprising pores and pore walls, wherein the pore walls comprise a 3D network of interconnected graphene planes or graphene sheets; and (b) a permeation-resistant binder or matrix material that coats and embraces the exterior surfaces of the graphene foam framework and/or infiltrates into pores of the graphene foam, occupying from 10% to 100% (preferably from 10% to 98% and more preferably from 20% to 90%) of the pore volume of the graphene foam framework.

Abstract: A humic acid-bonded metal foil current collector in a battery or supercapacitor, comprising: (a) a thin metal foil having two opposed but parallel primary surfaces; and (b) a thin film of humic acid (HA) or a mixture of HA and graphene, having hexagonal carbon planes, wherein HA or both HA and graphene are chemically bonded to at least one of the two primary surfaces; wherein the thin film has a thickness from 10 nm to 10 ?m, an oxygen content from 0.01% to 10% by weight, an inter-planar spacing of 0.335 to 0.50 nm between hexagonal carbon planes, a physical density from 1.3 to 2.2 g/cm3, all hexagonal carbon planes being oriented substantially parallel to each other and parallel to the primary surfaces, exhibiting a thermal conductivity greater than 500 W/mK, and/or electrical conductivity greater than 1,500 S/cm when measured alone without the metal foil.

Abstract: A composite particulate for a lithium battery, wherein the composite particulate has a diameter from 10 nm to 50 ?m and comprises one or more than one anode active material particles that are dispersed in a high-elasticity polymer matrix or encapsulated by a high-elasticity polymer shell, wherein the high-elasticity polymer matrix or shell has a recoverable elastic tensile strain no less than 5%, when measured without an additive or reinforcement dispersed therein, and a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10?8 S/cm at room temperature and wherein the high-elasticity polymer comprises a polymer derived from a monomer selected from the group consisting of phosphates, phosphonates, phosphonic acids, phosphorous acid, phosphites, phosphoric acids, combinations thereof, and combination thereof with phosphazenes. These polymers are also highly flame-resistant.

Abstract: Provided is a process for producing a solid graphene foam-based sealing material. The process comprises: (a) preparing a graphene dispersion having a graphene material dispersed in a liquid medium, which contains an optional blowing agent; (b) dispensing and depositing the graphene dispersion into desired shapes and partially or completely removing the liquid medium from these shapes to form dried graphene shapes; (c) heat treating the dried graphene shapes at a first heat treatment temperature from 50° C. to 3,200° C. at a desired heating rate sufficient to induce volatile gas molecules from the non-carbon elements or to activate the blowing agent for producing the graphene foam; and (d) coating or impregnating the graphene foam with a permeation-resistant binder or matrix material to form the sealing material.

Abstract: Provided is an anode for a lithium battery or sodium battery, the anode comprising multiple porous graphene balls and multiple particles or coating of a lithium-attracting metal or sodium-attracting metal at a graphene ball-to-metal volume ratio from 5/95 to 95/5, wherein the porous graphene ball comprises a plurality of graphene sheets forming into the ball having a diameter from 100 nm to 20 ?m and a pore or multiple pores having a pore volume fraction from 10% to 99.9% based on the total graphene ball volume, and wherein the particles or coating of lithium-attracting metal or sodium-attracting metal, having a diameter or thickness from 1 nm to 20 ?m, are selected from Au, Ag, Mg, Zn, Ti, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Sn, V, Cr, an alloy thereof, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: Provided is method of preparing an alkali metal-sulfur cell, comprising: (a) combining a quantity of a cathode active material (selected from sulfur, a metal-sulfur compound, a sulfur-carbon composite, a sulfur-graphene composite, a sulfur-graphite composite, an organic sulfur compound, a sulfur-polymer composite or a combination thereof), a quantity of an electrolyte, and a conductive additive to form a deformable cathode material, wherein the conductive additive, containing conductive filaments, forms a 3D network of electron-conducting pathways and the electrolyte contains an alkali salt and an ion-conducting polymer dissolved or dispersed in a solvent; (b) forming the cathode material into a quasi-solid cathode, wherein the forming includes deforming the cathode material into an electrode shape without interrupting the 3D network of electron-conducting pathways such that the cathode maintains an electrical conductivity no less than 10?6 S/cm; (c) forming an anode; and (d) forming a cell by combining the c

Abstract: Provided is a porous anode material structure for a lithium-ion battery, the structure comprising (A) an integral 3D graphene-carbon hybrid foam comprising multiple pores, having a pore volume Vp, and pore walls; and (B) coating of an anode active material, having a coating volume Vc, coated on surfaces of the pore walls; wherein pore walls contain single-layer or few-layer graphene sheets chemically bonded by a carbon material having a carbon material-to-graphene weight ratio from 1/200 to 1/2, and wherein the volume ratio Vp/Vc is from 0.1/1.0 to 10/1.0.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for producing metal nanowires having a diameter or thickness from 2 nm to 100 nm, the process comprising: (a) preparing a source metal particulate having a size from 50 nm to 500 ?m, selected from a transition metal, Al, Be, Mg, Ca, an alloy thereof, a compound thereof, or a combination thereof; (b) depositing a catalytic metal, in the form of nanoparticles or a coating having a diameter or thickness from 1 nm to 100 nm, onto a surface of the source metal particulate to form a catalyst metal-coated metal material, wherein the catalytic metal is different than the source metal material; and (c) exposing the catalyst metal-coated metal material to a high temperature environment, from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to enable a catalytic metal-assisted growth of multiple metal nanowires from the source metal particulate.

Abstract: A lithium- or sodium-ion battery anode layer, comprising a phosphorus material embedded in pores of a solid graphene foam composed of multiple pores and pore walls, wherein (a) the pore walls contain a pristine graphene or a non-pristine graphene material; (b) the phosphorus material contains particles or coating of P or MPy (M=transition metal and 1?y?4) and is in an amount from 20% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of the graphene foam and the phosphorus material combined, and (c) the multiple pores are lodged with particles or coating of the phosphorus material. Preferably, the solid graphene foam has a density from 0.01 to 1.7 g/cm3, a specific surface area from 50 to 2,000 m2/g, a thermal conductivity of at least 100 W/mK per unit of specific gravity, and/or an electrical conductivity no less than 1,000 S/cm per unit of specific gravity.