A method of manufacturing a free-standing electrode film includes preparing a mixture including an electrode active material, a binder, and an additive solution or conductive paste, the additive solution or conductive paste being in an amount less than 5% by weight of the mixture and including a polymer additive and a liquid carrier, as well as a conductive material in the case of a conductive paste. The mixture may have total solid contents greater than 95% by weight. Preparing the mixture may include mixing the additive solution or conductive paste with the electrode active material to lubricate the electrode active material and subsequently adding and mixing in the binder. The method may further include subjecting the mixture to a shear force and, after the mixture has been subjected to the shear force, pressing the mixture into a free-standing film.

A secondary battery includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolytic solution. The positive electrode includes a positive electrode active material layer. The positive electrode active material layer includes a lithium-nickel composite oxide of a layered rock-salt type.

A printed energy storage device includes a first electrode including zinc, a second electrode including manganese dioxide, and a separator between the first electrode and the second electrode, the first electrode, second, electrode, and separator printed onto a substrate. The device may include a first current collector and/or a second current collector printed onto the substrate. The energy storage device may include a printed intermediate layer between the separator and the first electrode. The first electrode, and the second electrode may include 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (C.sub.2mimBF.sub.4). The first electrode and the second electrode may include an electrolyte having zinc tetrafluoroborate (ZnBF.sub.4) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (C.sub.2mimBF.sub.4). The first electrode, the second electrode, the first current collector, and/or the second current collector can include carbon nanotubes. The separator may include solid microspheres.

A lithium vanadium oxide crystal and usage thereof that can achieve further excellent electrochemical characteristics are provided. New lithium vanadium oxide crystal is a lithium vanadium oxide crystal which is Li.sub.3VO.sub.4 to which tetravalent metal species M is doped, in which the lithium vanadium oxide crystal is represented by a chemical formula of Li.sub.3+1V.sub.1−xM.sub.xO.sub.4 and includes only a single crystal structure with γ-phase as Li.sub.3VO.sub.4 under a temperature environment including normal temperature, and the tetravalent metal species M is included in a ratio of x≥0.2.

A nanoporous carbon-loaded cement composite that conducts electricity. The nanoporous carbon-loaded cement composite can be used in a variety of different fields of use, including, for example, a structural super-capacitor as an energy solution for autonomous housing and other buildings, a heated cement for pavement deicing or house basement insulation against capillary rise, a protection of concrete against freeze-thaw (FT) or alkali silica reaction (ASR) or other crystallization degradation processes, and as a conductive cable, wire or concrete trace.

An aspect of the present invention is a nonaqueous electrolyte energy storage device including: a negative electrode including a negative active material layer with a thickness expansion rate of 10% or more due to charge; and a separator, in which the absolute value (|dR/dP|) of an increase in resistance (dR) to a change in pressure (dP) in pressurization is 0.15 Ω.Math.cm.sup.2/MPa or less in the separator impregnated with a measurement electrolyte solution, the measurement electrolyte solution contains an ethylene carbonate and an ethyl methyl carbonate as a solvent, and a lithium hexafluorophosphate as an electrolyte salt, the volume ratio between the ethylene carbonate and the ethyl methyl carbonate is 30:70, and the concentration of the lithium hexafluorophosphate is 1.0 mol/L.

An aspect of the present invention is a nonaqueous electrolyte energy storage device including a negative electrode containing metal lithium, a nonaqueous electrolyte including a fluorinated solvent, and a separator with an air permeability resistance of 150 seconds or less.

A nonaqueous electrolyte energy storage device according to one aspect of the present invention is a nonaqueous electrolyte energy storage device including a positive electrode having positive active material particles, in which the positive active material particles contain a lithium transition metal composite oxide having an α-NaFeO.sub.2 structure, the lithium transition metal composite oxide contains at least one of nickel and cobalt, and manganese, a content of lithium with respect to a transition metal in the lithium transition metal composite oxide exceeds 1.0 in terms of a molar ratio, a diffraction peak is present in a range of 20° or more and 22° or less in an X-ray diffraction diagram of the lithium transition metal composite oxide using a CuKα ray, and the positive active material particles contain aluminum.

The present invention provides a method of producing sulfur-modified polyacrylonitrile, including: a step (1) of heating polyacrylonitrile and elemental sulfur in a rotating-type heating container including a discharge pipe and a sulfur vapor recovery unit while rotating the rotating-type heating container; a step (2) of liquefying a sulfur vapor by the sulfur vapor recovery unit while discharging hydrogen sulfide generated in the heating step; and a step (3) of returning the liquefied sulfur to a mixture of the sulfur and the polyacrylonitrile of the step (1).

Compositions and methods comprising metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and related uses are generally provided. In some embodiments, a MOF comprises a plurality of metal ions, each coordinated with at least one ligand comprising at least two sets of ortho-diimine groups arranged about an organic core.