Various lithium cobalt oxides materials doped with one or more metal dopants having a chemical formula of Li.sub.x Co.sub.y O.sub.z (doped Me1.sub.a Me2.sub.b Me3.sub.c . . . MeN.sub.n), and method and apparatus of producing the various lithium cobalt oxides materials are provided. The method includes adjusting a molar ratio M.sub.LiSalt:M.sub.CoSalt:M.sub.Me1Salt:M.sub.Me2Salt:M.sub.Me3Salt: . . . M.sub.MeNSalt of a lithium-containing salt, a cobalt-containing salt and one or more metal-dopant-containing salts within a liquid mixture to be equivalent to a ratio of x:y:a:b:c: . . . n, drying a mist of the liquid mixture in the presence of a gas to form a gas-solid mixture, separating the gas-solid mixture into one or more solid particles of an oxide material, and annealing the solid particles of the oxide material in the presence of another gas flow to obtain crystalized particles of the lithium cobalt oxide material. The process system has a mist generator, a drying chamber, one or more gas-solid separator, and one or more reactors.

A method for producing a metal composite oxide, the method including steps of: preparing a slurry by mixing different kinds of metal compounds in a powder form, a dispersion medium, and a dispersant, and baking the different kinds of metal compounds after the dispersion medium in the slurry is removed. The slurry further includes a polyalkylene oxide having a viscosity average molecular weight of 150,000 or more. The slurry has a viscosity of 10 mPa.Math.s to 2000 mPa.Math.s, the viscosity being measured using a B-type viscometer under conditions of a temperature of 23° C. to 27° C. and a rotation rate of 60 rpm. According to the production method, a slurry in which different kinds metal compound powders are uniformly dispersed and a precipitate is unlikely to be formed can be obtained. Therefore, a metal composite oxide having a desired composition can be obtained.

A method for forming a positive electrode active material of a lithium ion secondary battery is provided. The method for forming a positive electrode active material includes a first step of placing a first container in which a mixture of a lithium oxide, a fluoride, and a magnesium compound are put, in a heating furnace, a second step of providing an atmosphere including oxygen in an inside of the heating furnace, and a third step of heating the inside of the heating furnace. The third step is performed after the first step and the second step are performed. Preferably, an atmosphere including oxygen is provided in the heating furnace before the inside of the heating furnace is heated. More preferably, the fluoride is lithium fluoride and the magnesium compound is magnesium fluoride.

A method for preparing copper-nickel cobaltate nanowires includes steps of: (1) dissolving a soluble nickel salt, cobalt salt and copper salt in ultrapure water, and preparing same into a mixed salt solution A; (2) adding 1-4 mmol of sodium dodecyl sulfate to solution A, and dissolving same with stirring; (3) dissolving 12-30 mmol of hexamethylenetetramine in 20 mL of ultrapure water to form solution B; (4) slowly dropwise adding solution B to solution A via a separatory funnel to form solution C, and stirring same for 0.5-1 h; and (5) further transferring same into a 100 mL reaction vessel, reacting same at 100-160° C. for 8-20 h, suction filtration and washing, and drying same at 40-60° C. in a vacuum oven, and further reacting same at 350-800° C. for 1-4 h in a muffle furnace.

Cathode active materials are provided. The cathode active material can include a plurality of cathode active compound particles. A coating is disposed over each of the cathode active compound particles. The coating can include at least one of ZrO.sub.2, La.sub.2O.sub.3, a mixture of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and ZrO.sub.2 or a mixture of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and La.sub.2O.sub.3. The battery cells that include the cathode active material are also provided.

Thermochemical storage materials having the general formula A.sub.xA′.sub.1-xB.sub.yB′.sub.1-yO.sub.3-δ, where A=La, Sr, K, Ca, Ba, Y and B=Mn, Fe, Co, Ti, Ni, Cu, Zr, Al, Y, Cr, V, Nb, Mo, are disclosed. These materials have improved thermal storage energy density and reaction kinetics compared to previous materials. Concentrating solar power thermochemical systems and methods capable of storing heat energy by using these thermochemical storage materials are also disclosed.

This application provides a lithium-ion battery and an apparatus. The lithium-ion battery includes an electrode assembly and an electrolyte. The electrode assembly includes a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator. A positive active material of the positive electrode plate includes Li.sub.x1Co.sub.y1M.sub.1-y1O.sub.2-z1Q.sub.z1, where 0.5≤x1≤1.2, 0.8≤y1≤1.0, 0≤z1≤0.1, M is selected from one or more of Al, Ti, Zr, Y, and Mg, and Q is selected from one or more of F, Cl, and S. The electrolyte contains an additive A that is a polynitrile six-membered nitrogen-heterocyclic compound with a relatively low oxidation potential. The lithium-ion battery has superb cycle performance and storage performance, especially under high-temperature and high-voltage conditions.

An energy device has an electrode including lithium cobaltite (LCO) grains, where the LCO grains are sintered to one another forming a self-supporting sheet with porous passages. The porous passages wind and branch through the sheet. The energy device further includes a solid electrolyte comprising lithium phosphosulfide (LPS) overlaying a major surface of the sheet and extending into the porous passages. The sheet serves as mechanical support for the solid electrolyte, allowing for high temperature joining of the LPS to the LCO without binder in the LPS.

Disclosed is a lithium complex oxide sintered plate including a plurality of primary grains having a layered rock-salt structure, the primary grains being bonded. The lithium complex oxide has a composition represented by the formula: Li.sub.x(Co.sub.1-yM.sub.y)O.sub.2±δ (wherein, 1.0≤x≤1.1, 0<y≤0.1, 0≤δ<1, and M is at least one selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ni, Al, and Mn), and the primary grains have a mean tilt angle of more than 0° to 30° or less, the mean tilt angle being a mean value of the angles defined by the (003) planes of the primary grains and the plate face of the lithium complex oxide sintered plate.

Disclosed is a lithium complex oxide sintered plate for use in a positive electrode of a lithium secondary battery. The lithium complex oxide sintered plate has a structure in which a plurality of primary grains having a layered rock-salt structure are bonded, and has a porosity of 3 to 30%, a mean pore diameter of 15 μm or less, an open pore rate of 70% or more, a thickness of 40 to 200 μm, a primary grain diameter of 20 μm or less, the primary grain diameter being a mean diameter of the primary grains, and a pore diameter distribution in which the number of peaks is one and volume-based D10, D50 and D90 pore diameters satisfy expressions: D50/D10≥2.5, D90/D50≥2.5 and D90/D10≥8.0.