Abstract: The disclosure provides multi-functional 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 an anode active material that are 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 particulates.

Abstract: A process for producing a unitary graphene matrix composite, the process comprising: (a) preparing a graphene oxide gel having graphene oxide molecules dispersed in a fluid medium, wherein the graphene oxide gel is optically transparent or translucent; (b) mixing a carbon or graphite filler phase in said graphene oxide gel to form a slurry; (c) dispensing said slurry onto a surface of a supporting substrate or a cavity of a molding tool; (d) partially or completely removing the fluid medium from the slurry to form a composite precursor; and (e) heat-treating the composite precursor to form the unitary graphene composite at a temperature higher than 100° C. This composite exhibits a combination of exceptional thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, surface hardness, and scratch resistance.

Abstract: The invention provides multi-functional particulates for a lithium battery, at least one of the particulates comprising a core and a thin encapsulating layer that encapsulates or embraces the core, wherein the encapsulating shell comprises multiple graphene sheets and have a thickness from 0.5 nm to 10 ?m and the core comprises conducting polymer gel network-encapsulated anode active material primary particles, wherein one or a plurality of primary particles of an anode active material, having a diameter or thickness from 0.5 nm to 20 ?m, is encapsulated by or embedded in an electrically and/or ionically conducting polymer gel network.

Abstract: Provided is method of producing graphene-embraced anode particulates for a lithium battery, the method comprising: (A) providing anode active material-decorated carbon or graphite particles, wherein the carbon or graphite particles have a diameter or thickness from 500 nm to 50 ?m and the anode active material, in a form of particles or coating having a diameter or thickness from 0.5 nm to 2 ?m, is bonded to surfaces of the carbon or graphite particles; and (B) embracing the anode active material-decorated carbon or graphite particles with a shell comprising multiple graphene sheets to produce the graphene-embraced anode particulates.

Abstract: Provided is an anode active material layer for a lithium battery, comprising multiple particulates of an anode active material, wherein a particulate is composed of one or a plurality of particles of a high-capacity anode active material being embraced or encapsulated by a thin layer of a high-elasticity polymer having a recoverable tensile strain no less than 5% when measured without an additive or reinforcement, a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10?6 S/cm at room temperature, and a thickness from 0.5 nm (or a molecular monolayer) to 10 ?m (preferably less than 100 nm), and 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: Provided is a supercapacitor electrode, comprising: (a) preparing a deformable mass of multiple flakes of exfoliated graphite worms or expanded graphite dispersed in or impregnated by a liquid or gel electrolyte; and (b) subjecting the deformable mass to a forced assembling and orientating procedure, forcing the deformable mass to form the electrode, wherein these fakes are spaced by thin electrolyte layers, having an electrolyte layer thickness from 0.4 nm to 10 nm, and the flakes are substantially aligned along a desired direction, and wherein the electrode has a physical density from 0.5 to 1.7 g/cm3 and a specific surface area from 50 to 3,300 m2/g, when measured in a dried state of the flakes without the electrolyte. This supercapacitor has a large electrode thickness, high active mass loading, high tap density, and exceptional energy density.

Abstract: Provided is a powder mass of multiple porous graphene balls, wherein at least one of the porous graphene balls comprises multiple graphene sheets having a catalyst, in a form of nanoparticles or coating having a diameter or thickness from 0.3 nm to 10 nm, bonded to or supported by graphene sheet surfaces, wherein the porous graphene balls have a density from 0.01 to 1.7 g/cm3 (preferably and typically from 0.1 to 1.5 g/cm3), and a specific surface area from 50 to 3,000 m2/g (preferably and typically from 200 to 2,630 m2/g). A method of producing such porous graphene balls is provided as well. Also provided is a gas storage device containing the invented powder mass as a gas-absorbing, gas-adsorbing, gas-capturing, or gas-storing medium to store a gas species therein.

Abstract: Provided is method of producing anode or cathode particulates for an alkali metal battery. The method comprises: (a) preparing a slurry containing particles of an anode or cathode active material, an electron-conducting material, and an electrolyte containing a lithium salt or sodium salt and an optional polymer dissolved in a liquid solvent; and (b) conducting a particulate-forming means to convert the slurry into multiple anode or cathode particulates, wherein an anode or a cathode particulate is composed of (i) particles of the active material, (ii) the electron-conducting material, and (iii) an electrolyte, wherein the electron-conducting material forms a 3D network of electron-conducting pathways and the electrolyte forms a 3D network of lithium ion- or sodium ion-conducting channels and wherein the anode particulate or cathode particulate has a dimension from 10 nm to 100 ?m and an electrical conductivity from about 10?6 S/cm to about 300 S/cm.

Abstract: Provided is an impact-transfer method of producing multiple anode particulates for a lithium battery, the method comprising: (a) mixing multiple particles of a graphitic material, multiple polymer-coated porous primary anode active material particles, with or without the presence of externally added milling balls or beads, to form a mixture in an impacting chamber of an energy impacting apparatus; (b) operating the energy impacting apparatus for peeling off graphene sheets from the particles of graphitic material and transferring the peeled graphene sheets to surfaces of the polymer-coated anode active material particles to produce particulates of graphene-encapsulated polymer-coated porous anode active material particles; (c) recovering the particulates from the impacting chamber and separating the particles of ball-milling media from the particulates; and (d) thermally converting the polymer in the polymer-coated particles into a carbon foam to obtain porous, graphene-encapsulated carbon foam-protected anod

Abstract: Provided is graphene-embraced anode particulate for a lithium battery, the particulate comprising: (A) a core comprising one or a plurality of anode active material-decorated carbon or graphite particles, wherein the carbon or graphite particles have a diameter or thickness from 500 nm to 50 ?m and the anode active material, in a form of particles or coating having a diameter or thickness from 0.5 nm to 2 ?m, is bonded to or embedded into surfaces of the carbon or graphite particles; and (B) an embracing shell embracing or encapsulating the core, wherein the embracing shell comprises multiple graphene sheets and have a thickness from 0.34 nm to 5 ?m.

Abstract: Provided is method of producing graphene-embraced anode particulates for a lithium battery, the method comprising: (A) providing anode active material-decorated carbon or graphite particles, wherein the carbon or graphite particles have a diameter or thickness from 500 nm to 50 ?m and the anode active material, in a form of particles or coating having a diameter or thickness from 0.5 nm to 2 ?m, is bonded to surfaces of the carbon or graphite particles; and (B) embracing the anode active material-decorated carbon or graphite particles with a shell comprising multiple graphene sheets to produce the graphene-embraced anode particulates.

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a graphitic film, comprising: (a) providing a suspension of aromatic molecules selected from petroleum heavy oil or pitch, coal tar pitch, a polynuclear hydrocarbon, a halogenated variant thereof, or a combination thereof, dispersed or dissolved in a liquid medium; (b) dispensing and depositing the suspension onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of aromatic molecules, wherein the procedure includes subjecting the suspension to an orientation-inducing stress or strain; (c) partially or completely removing the liquid medium; and (d) heat treating the resulting dried layer at a first temperature selected from 25° C. to 3,200° C. so that the aromatic molecules are merged or fused into larger aromatic molecules to form the graphitic film having graphene domains or graphite crystals, wherein the larger aromatic molecules or graphene planes in the graphene domains or graphite crystals are substantially parallel to each other.

Abstract: Provided is a lithium secondary battery, comprising a cathode, an anode, and a porous separator or electrolyte, 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; (b) a first anode-protecting layer having a thickness from 1 nm to 100 ?m, a specific surface area greater than 50 m2/g and comprising a thin layer of electron-conducting material selected from graphene sheets, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, carbon or graphite fibers, expanded graphite flakes, metal nanowires, conductive polymer fibers, or a combination thereof, and (c) a second 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.

Abstract: This disclosure provides a process for producing carbon-semiconductor nanowire hybrid material, comprising: (A) preparing a catalyst metal-coated mixture mass, which includes mixing carbon filaments with micron or sub-micron scaled semiconductor particles to form a mixture and depositing a nanoscaled catalytic metal onto surfaces of the carbon filaments and/or semiconductor particles; and (B) exposing the catalyst metal-coated mixture mass to a high temperature environment (preferably from 100° C. to 2,500° C.) for a period of time sufficient to enable a catalytic metal-catalyzed growth of multiple semiconductor nanowires using the semiconductor particles as a feed material to form the carbon-semiconductor nanowire hybrid material composition. An optional etching or separating procedure may be conducted to remove catalytic metal or carbon filaments from the semiconductor nanowires.

Abstract: A lithium battery cathode layer containing multiple particles or coating of a cathode active material (metal fluoride or metal chloride) and a layer of exfoliated graphite worms composed of interconnected graphite flakes and inter-flake pores, wherein (a) the graphite worms are selected from exfoliated natural graphite, exfoliated artificial graphite, exfoliated meso carbon micro-beads, exfoliated coke, exfoliated meso-phase pitch, exfoliated carbon or graphite fiber, or a combination thereof; (b) the cathode active material particles or coating has a size from 0.4 nm to 10 ?m, and is in an amount from 1% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of graphite worms and the cathode active material combined; and (c) some of the pores are lodged with particles or coating of the cathode active material.

Abstract: Provided is a lithium secondary battery, comprising a cathode, an anode, and a porous separator or electrolyte, 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; (b) a first anode-protecting layer having a thickness from 1 nm to 100 ?m (preferably <1 ?m and more preferably <100 nm) and comprising a lithium ion-conducting material having a lithium ion conductivity from 10?8 S/cm to 5×10?2 S/cm; and (c) a second 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.

Abstract: Provided is a process for producing porous graphene particulates for an alkali metal battery, the process comprising: (a) depositing a lithium-attracting or sodium-attracting metal onto particle surfaces of a sacrificial material to obtain metal-decorated sacrificial particles, 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, an alloy thereof, or a combination thereof; (b) encapsulating the metal-decorated sacrificial particles with multiple graphene sheets to produce graphene-embraced metal-decorated sacrificial particles; and (c) partially or completely removing the sacrificial particles from the graphene-embraced metal-decorated sacrificial particles to form porous graphene particulates, wherein the porous graphene particulate comprises a graphene shell (comprising multiple graphene sheets) encapsulating a porous core, comprising one or a plurality of pores and the lithium-attracting or sodium-attracting metal resides i

Abstract: Provided is an impact-transfer method of producing multiple porous anode particulates for a lithium battery, the method comprising: (a) mixing multiple particles of a graphitic material, multiple composite particles comprising primary anode active material particles dispersed in or bonded by a sacrificial material, optional milling balls to form a mixture in an impacting chamber of an energy impacting apparatus; (b) operating the energy impacting apparatus for peeling off graphene sheets from the particles of graphitic material and transferring the peeled graphene sheets to surfaces of composite particles to produce particulates of graphene-encapsulated composite particles; (c) recovering the particulates from the impacting chamber; and (d) partially or completely removing the sacrificial particles from the particulates of graphene-encapsulated composite particles to obtain the multiple porous anode particulates.

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: A surface-enabled, metal ion-exchanging battery device comprising a cathode, an anode, a porous separator, and a metal ion-containing electrolyte, wherein the metal ion is selected from aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga), indium (In), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), or bismuth (Bi), and at least one of the electrodes contains therein a metal ion source prior to the first charge or discharge cycle of the device and at least the cathode comprises a functional material or nanostructured material having a metal ion-capturing functional group or metal ion-storing surface in direct contact with the electrolyte. This energy storage device has a power density significantly higher than that of a lithium-ion battery and an energy density dramatically higher than that of a supercapacitor.