Abstract: Disclosed is a process for producing semiconductor nanowires having a diameter or thickness from 2 nm to 100 nm, the process comprising: (A) preparing a semiconductor material particulate having a size from 50 nm to 500 ?m, selected from Ga, In, Ge, Sn, Pb, P, As, Sb, Bi, Te, a combination thereof, a compound thereof, or a combination thereof with Si; (B) depositing a catalytic metal, in the form of nanoparticles having a size from 1 nm to 100 nm or a coating having a thickness from 1 nm to 100 nm, onto surfaces of the semiconductor material particulate to form a catalyst metal-coated semiconductor material; and (C) exposing the catalyst metal-coated semiconductor 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 semiconductor nanowires from the particulate.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of improving the anode stability and cycle-life of an alkali metal-sulfur. The method comprises implementing two anode-protecting layers between an anode active material layer and an electrolyte or electrolyte/separator assembly. These two layers comprise (a) a first anode-protecting layer, in physical contact with the anode active material layer, having a thickness from 1 nm to 100 ?m and comprising a thin layer of an electron-conducting material having a specific surface area greater than 50 m2/g; and (b) a second anode-protecting layer in physical contact with the first anode-protecting layer, having a thickness from 1 nm to 100 ?m and comprising an elastomer having a fully recoverable tensile elastic strain from 2% to 1,000% and a lithium ion conductivity from 10?8 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm when measure at room temperature.

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a rechargeable alkali metal-sulfur cell, comprising: (a) providing an anode layer; (b) providing particulates comprising primary particles of a sulfur-containing material encapsulated or embraced by a thin layer of a conductive sulfonated elastomer composite, wherein the conductive sulfonated elastomer composite comprises from 0% to 50% by weight of a conductive reinforcement material dispersed in a sulfonated elastomeric matrix material, and the conductive sulfonated elastomer composite has a thickness from 1 nm to 10 ?m, a fully recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 500%, a lithium ion conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm, and an electrical conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 100 S/cm; (c) forming the particulates, a resin binder, and an optional conductive additive into a cathode layer; and (d) combining the anode layer, the cathode layer, an optional porous separator, and an electrolyte to form the alkali metal-sulfur cell.

Abstract: A polymer matrix composite containing graphene sheets homogeneously dispersed in a polymer matrix wherein the polymer matrix composite exhibits a percolation threshold from 0.0001% to 0.1% by volume of graphene sheets to form a 3D network of interconnected graphene sheets or network of electron-conducting pathways.

Abstract: Provided is a lithium metal secondary battery comprising a cathode, an anode, an electrolyte-separator assembly disposed between the cathode and the anode, wherein the anode comprises: (a) an anode active material layer containing a layer of lithium or lithium alloy optionally supported by an anode current collector; and (b) an anode-protecting layer in physical contact with the anode active material layer and in ionic contact with the electrolyte-separator assembly, having a thickness from 10 nm to 500 ?m and comprising an elastic polymer foam having a fully recoverable elastic compressive strain from 2% to 500% and pores having a pore volume fraction from 5% to 95% (most preferably 50-95%); wherein preferably the pores are interconnected.

Abstract: A method of producing a powder mass for a lithium battery, comprising: (a) mixing graphene sheets and a sulfonated elastomer or its precursor in a liquid medium or solvent to form a suspension; (b) dispersing a plurality of particles of an anode active material in the suspension to form a slurry; and (c) dispensing the slurry and removing the solvent and/or polymerizing or curing the precursor to form the powder mass comprising multiple particulates, wherein at least one of the particulates is composed of one or a plurality of the particles encapsulated by a thin layer of a sulfonated elastomer/graphene composite having a thickness from 1 nm to 10 ?m, a fully recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 500%, a lithium ion conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm and an electrical conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 100 S/cm.

Abstract: Provided is a method of manufacturing an alkali metal-selenium cell, comprising: (a) providing a cathode; (b) providing an alkali metal anode; and (c) combining the anode and the cathode and adding an electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode and the cathode to form the cell; wherein the cathode contains multiple particulates of a selenium-containing material selected from selenium, a selenium-carbon hybrid, selenium-graphite hybrid, selenium-graphene hybrid, conducting polymer-selenium hybrid, a metal selenide, a Se alloy or mixture with Sn, Sb, Bi, S, or Te, a selenium compound, or a combination thereof and wherein at least one of the particulates comprises one or a plurality of selenium-containing material particles being embraced or encapsulated by a thin layer of an elastomer having a recoverable tensile strain from 5% to 1000%, a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10?7 S/cm, and a thickness from 0.5 nm to 10 ?m.

Abstract: Producing multiple anode particulates, including: a) dispersing an electrically conducting material, multiple porous primary particles of an anode active material, an optional electron-conducting material, and a sacrificial material in a liquid medium to form a precursor mixture; b) forming the precursor mixture into multiple droplets and drying the droplets; and c) removing the sacrificial material or thermally converting the sacrificial material into a carbon material to obtain multiple particulates, wherein a particulate comprises a plurality of porous anode active material particles having a pore volume Vpp and a solid volume Va, an electron-conducting material, and additional pores having a volume Vp, which are encapsulated by a thin encapsulating layer having a thickness from 1 nm to 10 ?m and a lithium ion conductivity from 10-8 S/cm to 5×10-2 S/cm and the volume ratio Vp/Va in the particulate is from 0.1/1.0 to 10/1.0 or (Vpp+Vp)/Va ratio is from 0.3/1.0 to 20/1.0.

Abstract: Provided is an anode active material electrode for a lithium battery. This electrode layer comprises multiple particulates of an anode active material, wherein at least a particulate is composed of one or a plurality of particles of an anode active material being encapsulated by a thin layer of sulfonated elastomer/graphene composite having from 0.01% to 50% by weight of graphene sheets dispersed in a sulfonated elastomeric matrix material, wherein the encapsulating shell composite has a thickness from 1 nm to 10 ?m, a lithium ion conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm, and an electrical conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 100 S/cm when measured at room temperature. The anode active material is preferably selected from Si, Ge, Sn, SnO2, SiOx, Co3O4, Mn3O4, etc., which has a specific capacity of lithium storage greater than 372 mAh/g (the theoretical lithium storage limit of graphite).

Abstract: Provided is a lithium secondary battery, comprising a cathode, an anode, and a porous separator or electrolyte disposed between the cathode and the anode, wherein the anode comprises: (a) an anode active layer containing a layer of lithium or lithium alloy, in a form of a foil, coating, or multiple particles aggregated together, as an anode active material; and (b) a thin layer of a high-elasticity polymer, disposed between the anode active layer and the porous separator or electrolyte; the polymer having a recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 1,500%, a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10?6 S/cm (typically up to 5×10?2 S/cm) at room temperature, and a thickness from 1 nm to 10 ?m, wherein the high-elasticity polymer contains a polyrotaxane network having a rotaxane structure or a polyrotaxane structure at a crosslink point of the polyrotaxane network.

Abstract: The disclosure provides multi-functional cathode particulates for a lithium battery, wherein at least one of the particulates has a diameter from 100 nm to 50 ?m and comprises a conducting polymer network composite comprising one or a plurality of primary particles of a cathode active material that are partially or fully encapsulated by, embedded in, dispersed in, or bonded by an electrically and ionically conducting network of cross-linked polymer chains having a lithium ion conductivity from 10?8 to 5×10?2 S/cm and an electron conductivity from 10?8 to 103 S/cm, wherein the primary particles have a diameter or thickness from 0.5 nm to 20 ?m. Also provided is a method of producing such cathode particulates.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of improving the cycle-life of a rechargeable alkali metal-sulfur cell. The method comprises implementing an anode-protecting layer between an anode active material layer and a porous separator/electrolyte, and/or implementing a cathode-protecting layer between a cathode active material and the porous separator/electrolyte, wherein the anode-protecting layer or cathode-protecting layer comprises a conductive sulfonated elastomer composite having from 0.01% to 40% by weight of a conductive reinforcement material and from 0.01% to 40% by weight of an electrochemically stable inorganic filler dispersed in a sulfonated elastomeric matrix material and the protecting layer has a thickness from 1 nm to 100 ?m, a fully recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 500%, a lithium ion conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm, and an electrical conductivity from 10?7 S/cm to 100 S/cm when measured at room temperature.

Abstract: Provided is a process for manufacturing 2D inorganic compound platelets, the process comprising (a) preparing a first stock containing a 3D layered inorganic compound material dispersed in a liquid medium, (h) injecting the first stock into a continuous reactor having a vortex flow, (c) operating the continuous reactor to form a reaction product suspension containing 2D inorganic compound platelets dispersed in the liquid medium, and (d) separating and recovering said 2D inorganic compound platelets from said product suspension. The product suspension may be directed to flow back to the continuous director for further processing for at least another pass through the reactor, prior to step (d). The continuous reactor is preferably a Couette-Taylor reactor.

Abstract: Provided is an aluminum secondary battery comprising an optional anode current collector, an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode and the cathode, wherein the anode contains aluminum metal or an aluminum metal alloy and the cathode comprises a layer of graphite or carbon material having expanded inter-graphene planar spaces with an inter-planar spacing d002 from 0.43 nm to 2.0 nm as measured by X-ray diffraction. Such an aluminum battery delivers a high energy density, high power density, and long cycle life.

Abstract: Provided is a method of preparing an alkali-sulfur cell comprising: (a) combining a quantity of an active material, a quantity of an electrolyte containing an alkali salt dissolved in a solvent, and a conductive additive to form a deformable and electrically conductive electrode material, wherein the conductive additive, containing conductive filaments, forms a 3D network of electron-conducting pathways; (b) forming the electrode material into a quasi-solid electrode (the first electrode), wherein the forming step includes deforming the electrode material into an electrode shape without interrupting the 3D network of electron-conducting pathways such that the electrode maintains an electrical conductivity no less than 10?6 S/cm; (c) forming a second electrode (the second electrode may be a quasi-solid electrode as well); and (d) forming an alkali-sulfur cell by combining the quasi-solid electrode and the second electrode having an ion-conducting separator disposed between the two electrodes.

Abstract: A process for producing a fabric comprising at least a graphene-based continuous or long fiber, comprising: (a) preparing a graphene dispersion having chemically functionalized graphene sheets dispersed in a fluid; (b) dispensing, depositing, and shearing at least a continuous or long filament of the graphene dispersion onto a substrate, and removing the fluid to form a continuous or long fiber comprising aligned chemically functionally graphene sheets; and (c) inducing chemical reactions between chemical functional groups attached to adjacent graphene sheets to form the graphene fiber; (d) combining the graphene fiber with a plurality of fibers, the same type as or different than the graphene fiber, to form at least one fiber yarn; and (e) combining the at least one fiber yarn and a plurality of fiber yarns, the same type as or different than the at least one fiber yarn, to form the fabric.

Abstract: Provided is a simple, fast, scalable, and environmentally benign method of producing graphene-stabilized lithium metal particles, comprising: a) mixing particles of a graphitic material, polymer-coated particles of a lithium-attracting seed material, and optional ball-milling media to form a mixture in an impacting chamber of an energy impacting apparatus; b) operating the apparatus with a frequency and an intensity for a length of time sufficient for peeling off graphene sheets from particles of graphitic material and transferring the peeled graphene sheets to surfaces of the polymer-coated particles and fully encapsulate the particles to produce graphene-encapsulated polymer-coated solid particles; c) recovering the graphene-encapsulated polymer-coated solid particles from the impacting chamber and removing the polymer from the particles to produce graphene balls, wherein the graphene ball has a graphene shell, a lithium-attracting seed material particle and a hollow space; and d) impregnating the graphene

Abstract: Provided is a fabric comprising a layer of yarns combined (by weaving, braiding, knitting, or non-woven) to form the fabric wherein the yarns comprise one or a plurality of graphene-based long or continuous fibers. The long or continuous fiber comprises chemically functionalized graphene sheets that are chemically bonded with one another having an inter-planar spacing d002 from 0.36 nm to 1.5 nm as determined by X-ray diffraction and a non-carbon element content of 0.1% to 40% by weight, wherein the functionalized graphene sheets are substantially parallel to one another and parallel to the fiber axis direction and the fiber contains no core-shell structure, have no helically arranged graphene domains, and have a length no less than 0.5 cm and a physical density from 1.5 to 2.25 g/cm3. The graphene fiber typically has a thermal conductivity from 300 to 1,600 W/mK, an electrical conductivity from 600 to 15,000 S/cm, or a tensile strength higher than 1.0 GPa.

Abstract: A process for producing a nanographene platelet-reinforced composite material having nanographene platelets or sheets (NGPs) as a first reinforcement phase dispersed in a matrix material and the first reinforcement phase occupies a weight fraction of 1-90% based on the total composite weight. Preferably, these NGPs, alone or in combination with a second reinforcement phase, are bonded by an adhesive and constitute a continuous 3-D network of electron- and phonon-conducting paths.

Abstract: A graphene-enabled hybrid particulate for use as a cathode active material of an alkali metal-selenium battery, wherein the hybrid particulate is composed of a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and one or a plurality of fine selenium particles or coatings, having a diameter or thickness from 0.5 nm to 10 ?m, and the graphene sheets and the selenium particles or coatings are mutually bonded or agglomerated into a hybrid particulate containing an exterior graphene sheet or multiple exterior graphene sheets embracing the selenium particles or coatings, and wherein the hybrid particulate has an electrical conductivity no less than 10?4 S/cm and the graphene amount is from 0.01% to 30% by weight based on the total weight of graphene and selenium combined. Typically and desirably, the hybrid particulate is substantially spherical or ellipsoidal in shape.