Abstract: Provided is a rechargeable alkali metal-sulfur cell comprising an anode layer, an electrolyte and a porous separator, a cathode layer, and a discrete anode-protecting layer disposed between the anode layer and the separator and/or a discrete cathode-protecting layer disposed between the separator and the cathode active material layer; wherein the anode-protecting layer or cathode-protecting layer comprises a conductive sulfonated elastomer composite having from 0.01% to 50% by weight of a conductive reinforcement material dispersed in a sulfonated elastomeric matrix material and the protective layer has a thickness from 1 nm to 50 ?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. This battery exhibits an excellent combination of high sulfur content, high sulfur utilization efficiency, high energy density, and long cycle life.

Abstract: Provided is a lithium secondary battery containing an anode, a cathode, a porous separator disposed between the anode and the cathode, an electrolyte, and a lithium ion reservoir disposed between the anode and the porous separator and configured to receive lithium ions from the cathode when the battery is charged and enable the lithium ions to enter the anode in a time-delayed manner, wherein the reservoir comprises a conducting porous framework structure having pores (pore size from 1 nm to 500 ?m) and lithium-capturing groups residing in the pores, wherein the lithium-capturing groups are selected from (a) redox forming species that reversibly form a redox pair with a lithium ion; (b) electron-donating groups interspaced between non-electron-donating groups; (c) anions and cations wherein the anions are more mobile than the cations; or (d) chemical reducing groups that partially reduce lithium ions from Li+1 to Li+?, wherein 0<?<1.

Abstract: Provided is method of improving fast-chargeability of a lithium secondary battery, wherein the method comprises disposing a lithium ion reservoir between an anode and a porous separator and configured to receive lithium ions from the cathode through the porous separator when the battery is charged and to enable the lithium ions to enter the anode in a time-delayed manner. In some embodiments, the reservoir comprises a conducting porous framework structure having pores and lithium-capturing groups residing in the pores, wherein the lithium-capturing groups are selected from (a) redox forming species that reversibly form a redox pair with a lithium ion; (b) electron-donating groups interspaced between non-electron-donating groups; (c) anions and cations wherein the anions are more mobile than the cations; or (d) chemical reducing groups that partially reduce lithium ions from Li+1 to Li+?, wherein 0<?<1.

Abstract: Provided is graphene-embraced particulate for use as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, wherein the particulate comprises primary particle(s) of an anode active material and multiple sheets of a first graphene material overlapped together to embrace or encapsulate the primary particle(s) and wherein a single or a plurality of graphene-encapsulated primary particles, along with an optional conductive additive, are further embraced or encapsulated by multiple sheets of a second graphene material, wherein the first graphene and/or the second graphene material is attached to a redox partner species (e.g. sulfonyl group, —NH2, etc.) capable of reversibly forming a redox pair with lithium. The invention also provides an anode electrode and a battery comprising multiple graphene-embraced particulates having redox forming species bonded thereto.

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 method of improving fire resistance of a lithium battery, the method comprising disposing a heat-resistant spacer layer between a porous separator and a cathode layer or anode layer, wherein the heat-resistant spacer layer contains a distribution of particles of a thermally stable material having a heat-induced degradation temperature or melting point higher than 400° C. (up to 3,500° C.) and wherein the heat-resistant spacer layer acts to space apart the anode and the cathode when the porous separator of the battery fails. Such a heat-resistant spacer layer prevents massive internal shorting from occurring when the porous separator gets melted, contracted, or collapsed under extreme temperature conditions induced by, for instance, dendrite or nail penetration.

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 graphene-embraced particulate for use as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, wherein the particulate comprises primary particle(s) of an anode active material and multiple sheets of a first graphene material overlapped together to embrace or encapsulate the primary particle(s) and wherein a single or a plurality of graphene-encapsulated primary particles, along with an optional conductive additive, are further embraced or encapsulated by multiple sheets of a second graphene material, wherein the first graphene and the second graphene material is each in an amount from 0.01% to 20% by weight and the optional conductive additive is in an amount from 0% to 50% by weight, all based on the total weight of the particulate. Also provided are an anode and a battery comprising multiple graphene-embraced particulates.

Abstract: Provided is graphene-embraced particulate for use as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, wherein the particulate comprises primary particle(s) of an anode active material and multiple sheets of a first graphene material overlapped together to embrace or encapsulate the primary particle(s) and wherein a single or a plurality of graphene-encapsulated primary particles, along with an optional conductive additive, are further embraced or encapsulated by multiple sheets of a second graphene material, wherein the first graphene and the second graphene material is each in an amount from 0.01% to 20% by weight and the optional conductive additive is in an amount from 0% to 50% by weight, all based on the total weight of the particulate. Also provided are an anode and a battery comprising multiple graphene-embraced particulates.

Abstract: Provided is a lithium secondary battery containing an anode, a cathode, a porous separator/electrolyte element disposed between the anode and the cathode, and a cathode-protecting layer bonded or adhered to the cathode, wherein the cathode-protecting layer comprises a lithium ion-conducting polymer matrix or binder and inorganic material particles that are dispersed in or chemically bonded by the polymer matrix or binder and wherein the cathode-protecting layer has a thickness from 10 nm to 100 ?m and the polymer matrix or binder has a lithium-ion conductivity from 10?8 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm. Additionally or alternatively, there can be a similarly configured anode-protecting layer adhered to the anode. Such an electrode-protecting layer prevents massive internal shorting from occurring even when the porous separator gets melted, contracted, or collapsed under extreme temperature conditions induced by, for instance, dendrite or nail penetration.

Abstract: Provided is graphene-embraced particulate for use as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, wherein the particulate comprises primary particle(s) of an anode active material and multiple sheets of a first graphene material overlapped together to embrace or encapsulate the primary particle(s) and wherein a single or a plurality of graphene-encapsulated primary particles, along with an optional conductive additive, are further embraced or encapsulated by multiple sheets of a second graphene material, wherein the first graphene and the second graphene material is each in an amount from 0.01% to 20% by weight and the optional conductive additive is in an amount from 0% to 50% by weight, all based on the total weight of the particulate. Also provided are an anode and a battery comprising multiple graphene-embraced particulates.

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a mass of graphene-embraced particulates, comprising (A) peeling off graphene sheets from graphite particles and directly or indirectly transferring these graphene sheets to encapsulate primary particles of an anode active material using an energy-impact device, wherein multiple graphene sheets are overlapped together to embrace or encapsulate a primary particle; and (B) combining the resulting graphene-encapsulated primary particles with additional graphene sheets, along with an optional conductive additive, to form graphene-embraced particulates. Also provided are an anode electrode comprising multiple graphene-embraced particulates and a battery comprising such an anode electrode.

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 an integral graphene film comprising chemically functionalized graphene sheets that are chemically bonded or interconnected 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 47% by weight, wherein said functionalized graphene sheets are substantially parallel to one another and parallel to an in-plane direction of said integral graphene film and said integral graphene film has a length from 1 cm to 10,000 m, a width from 1 cm to 5 m, a thickness from 2 nm to 500 ?m, and a physical density from 1.5 to 2.25 g/cm3. The integral graphene film typically has a Young's modulus from 20 GPa to 300 GPa or a tensile strength from 1.0 GPa to 3.5 GPa.

Abstract: Provided is a process for producing an integral graphene film, comprising: (a) preparing a graphene dispersion having chemically functionalized graphene sheets dispersed in a fluid medium wherein the graphene sheets contain chemical functional groups attached thereto; (b) dispensing and depositing a wet film of the graphene dispersion onto a supporting substrate, wherein the dispensing and depositing procedure includes mechanical shear stress-induced alignment of the graphene sheets along a film planar direction, and partially or completely removing the fluid medium to form a relatively dried film comprising aligned chemically functionally graphene sheets; and (c) using heat, electromagnetic waves, UV light, or high-energy radiation to induce chemical reactions or chemical bonding between chemical functional groups attached to adjacent chemically functionalized graphene sheets to form the integral graphene film.

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: One embodiment of the invention is an alkali metal-selenium battery comprising an anode, a selenium cathode, an electrolyte, an electronically insulating porous separator, and an electronically conducting graphene separator layer comprising a solid graphene foam, paper or fabric that is permeable to lithium ions or sodium ions but is substantially non-permeable to selenium or metal selenide, wherein the graphene separator layer is disposed between the selenium cathode layer and the electronically insulating porous separator layer and the graphene separator layer contains pristine graphene sheets or non-pristine graphene sheets having 0.01% to 20% by weight of non-carbon elements, wherein the 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.

Abstract: Provided is a method of inhibiting corrosion of a structure or object having a surface, the method comprising (i) coating at least a portion of the surface with a coating suspension comprising multiple graphene sheets coated with a thin film of an anti-corrosive pigment or sacrificial metal having a thickness from 0.5 nm to 1 ?m and a resin binder dispersed or dissolved in a liquid medium; and (ii) at least partially removing the liquid medium from the coating suspension upon completion of the coating step to form a protective coating layer on the surface. Preferably, the protective coating layer contains coated graphene sheets that are aligned to be substantially parallel to one another and parallel to the surface of the structure or object to be protected.

Abstract: Provided is a graphene-based long fiber comprising 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 2.2 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: One embodiment of the invention is method of inhibiting the shuttle effect by preventing migration of selenium or metal selenide ions from a cathode to an anode of an alkali metal-selenium battery, the method comprising: (a) combining an anode active material layer, a cathode active material layer, an electrically insulating porous separator disposed between the anode active material layer and the cathode active material layer, and electrolyte to form an alkali metal-selenium battery cell, and (b) implementing a porous trapping layer, having a thickness from 5 nm to 100 ?m, between the cathode active material layer and the electrically insulating porous separator to trap selenium or metal selenide ions that are dissolved in the electrolyte from the cathode active material layer. Such a method enables the formation of an alkali metal-selenium battery exhibiting a long cycle life.