An electrochemical cell is provided which includes a cathode, an anode, an electrolyte separator, and an anode current collector located on the anode. The anode is a three-dimensional (3D) porous anode including ionically conducting electrolyte strands and pores which extend through the anode from the anode current collector to the electrolyte separator. The anode also includes electronically conducting networks extending on sidewall surfaces of the pores from the anode current collector to the electrolyte separator.

A protected anode, an electrochemical device including the same, and a method of preparing the electrochemical device. The protected anode may include: an anode layer; and a protective layer including an oxide represented by Formula 1, on the anode layer:

##STRFormula 1##

In Formula 1, A is at least one of Ge, Sb, Bi, Se, Sn, or Pb; M is at least one of In, Tl, Sb, Bi, S, Se, Te, or Po; A and M are different from each other; and 0<x<100 and 0<y<100.

An engineered particle for an energy storage device, the engineered particle includes an active material particle, capable of storing alkali ions, comprising an outer surface, a conductive coating disposed on the outer surface of the active material particle, the conductive coating comprising a M.sub.xAl.sub.ySi.sub.zO.sub.w film; and at least one carbon particle disposed within the conductive coating. For the M.sub.xAl.sub.ySi.sub.zO.sub.w film, M is an alkali selected from the group consisting of Na and Li, and 1≤x≤4, 0≤y≤1, 1≤z≤2, and 3≤w≤6.

Described herein are electrodes, electrochemical cells, methods of making electrodes and methods of making electro-chemical cells. The electrodes described herein have an interface layer or material that can stabilize reversible alkali metal deposition. The interface material may correspond to or be a solid-electrolyte interphase that can allow alkali metal ions to transmit through and be deposited below the interface material. The interface material can prevent dendrite formation and/or decomposition of the electrolyte, enabling use of lithium metal safely in a secondary (i.e., rechargeable) electrochemical cell. The interface material may comprise a combination of one or more metals, one or more chalcogens, and one or more other elements or organic functional groups.

A negative electrode active material particle with little deterioration is provided. Alternatively, a novel negative electrode active material particle is provided. Alternatively, a power storage device with little deterioration is provided. Alternatively, a highly safe power storage device is provided. Alternatively, a novel power storage device is provided. The electrode includes an active material and a conductive additive; the active material contains a metal or a compound including one or more elements selected from silicon, tin, gallium, aluminum, germanium, lead, antimony, bismuth, silver, zinc, cadmium, and indium; the conductive additive contains a graphene compound; and the graphene compound contains fluorine.

Disclosed herein is a composition comprising a shell that is substantially carbon encapsulating a volume that contains a nanoform of silicon and a void space. Disclosed herein too is a method of fabricating a composition comprising combining a nanoform of silicon with a carbon precursor and sintering the combination with a laser.

A method of forming a battery electrode by forming, on a first substrate, a polymer template comprising interconnected polymer fibers, forming, on the polymer template, a carbon coating to form a carbon-coated polymer template, removing the carbon-coated polymer template from the first substrate, subsequent to removing the carbon-coated polymer template from the first substrate, removing the polymer template from the carbon coating, and disposing the carbon coating on a second substrate. A solid electrolyte interphase layer (SEI) comprising the carbon coating produced via the method, a battery electrode comprising such an SEI layer, and a battery comprising such a battery electrode are also provided.

A method of forming a battery electrode by forming, on a first substrate, a polymer template comprising interconnected polymer fibers, forming, on the polymer template, a carbon coating to form a carbon-coated polymer template, removing the carbon-coated polymer template from the first substrate, subsequent to removing the carbon-coated polymer template from the first substrate, removing the polymer template from the carbon coating, and disposing the carbon coating on a second substrate. A solid electrolyte interphase layer (SEI) comprising the carbon coating produced via the method, a battery electrode comprising such an SEI layer, and a battery comprising such a battery electrode are also provided.

Methods of forming a composite material film can include providing a mixture comprising a precursor and silane-treated silicon particles. The methods can also include pyrolysing the mixture to convert the precursor into one or more carbon phases to form the composite material film with the silicon particles distributed throughout the composite material film.

A porous silicon-containing composite includes: a porous core including a porous silicon composite secondary particle; and a shell on at least one surface of the porous core, the shell including a first graphene, wherein the porous silicon composite secondary particle includes an aggregate of a first primary particle including silicon, a second primary particle including a structure and second graphene on at least one surface of the first primary particle and the second primary particle, and wherein at least one of a shape and a degree of oxidation of the first primary particle and the second primary particle are different. Also an electrode including the porous silicon-containing composite, a lithium battery including the electrode, and a device including the porous silicon-containing composite or the carbon composite.