A process for synthesizing a material, includes: (a) providing a plurality of powders including at least one lithiated powder including lithium, at least one TM powder including, for more than 95.0% of its mass, a transition metal chosen from titanium; cobalt, manganese, nickel, niobium, tin, iron and mixtures thereof, and at least one chalcogen powder including, for more than 95.0% of its mass, a chalcogen element chosen from sulfur, selenium, tellurium and mixtures thereof, (b) preparing a particulate mixture by mixing all the powders of the plurality or by mixing one of the powders of the plurality with a milled material obtained by; milling a particulate assembly formed by mixing at least two of the other powders of the plurality, and (c) milling the particulate fixture to form the material.

A method of making a negative electrode for an electrochemical cell of a secondary lithium battery. The negative electrode includes composite Li—Si alloy particles dispersed in a polymer binder. The composite Li—Si alloy particles are formed by contacting Li—Si alloy particles with a precursor solution that includes a phosphorus sulfide compound dissolved in an organic solvent to form a lithium thiophosphate solid electrolyte layer over an entire outer surface of each of the Li—Si alloy particles.

Some aspects of the invention are related to lithium batteries, and more specifically, to in-situ control of solid electrolyte interface for enhanced cycle performance in lithium metal batteries. In some embodiments, the electrochemical cell comprises a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that is rich in inorganic materials (e.g., LiF, Li.sub.2O, Li.sub.2CO.sub.3) and has various advantageous properties (e.g., improved anode stability, etc.). Some embodiments are directed to methods of electrical energy storage and use of an electrochemical cell. In some cases, the methods comprise applying anisotropic force and/or formation voltage to a cell and forming an inorganic rich SEI layer in-situ.

One aspect of the present invention is a nonaqueous electrolyte energy storage device including: a negative electrode containing a lithium alloy containing gold, and lithium metal; a positive electrode; and a nonaqueous electrolyte, in which the negative electrode includes a negative electrode substrate including a metal foil and a coating layer coating the negative electrode substrate, the metal foil contains copper, nickel, or stainless steel as a main component, and the coating layer contains gold as a main component.

An anode-solid electrolyte sub-assembly for an all-solid secondary battery, the anode-solid electrolyte sub-assembly including: an anode current collector; an anode material layer on the anode current collector; and a solid electrolyte on the anode material layer and opposite the current collector, wherein the anode material layer includes an interlayer, which contacts the solid electrolyte and includes a composite including a first metal material; and a first anode active material layer on the interlayer and opposite the anode current collector, the first anode active material layer including a lithium metal, a lithium alloy, or a combination thereof, wherein the lithium metal or the lithium alloy have a particle size greater than the particle size of the first metal material.

A metallic salt including at least one anion having a heterocyclic aromatic structure represented by one of Formulae 1 to 3; and a metallic cation: ##STR00001##
wherein, in Formulae 1 to 3, each X is independently N, P, or As, one of A.sub.1 and A.sub.2 is an electron-donating group, and the other one is an electron-withdrawing group, ring Ar.sub.1 and ring Ar.sub.2 are as defined herein, L is a linker group as defined herein, m is an integer from 1 to 5, and n is an integer from 0 to 5.

An energy storage apparatus used in a flight vehicle includes battery circuits connected in series, through which current flows during charge and discharge of the energy storage apparatus. Each of the battery circuits includes: a first electrical path; an energy storage cell connected to an adjacent battery circuit through the first electrical path; a first switch that includes a diode and is provided in the first electrical path such that a forward direction of the diode is a charge direction of the energy storage apparatus; a second electrical path connected to the adjacent battery circuit in parallel with the energy storage cell and the first switch; and a second switch that includes a diode and is provided in the second electrical path such that a forward direction of the diode is a discharge direction of the energy storage apparatus, and is turned on when the first switch is turned off.

An energy storage apparatus used in a flight vehicle includes battery circuits connected in series, through which current flows during charge and discharge of the energy storage apparatus. Each of the battery circuits includes: a first electrical path; an energy storage cell connected to an adjacent battery circuit through the first electrical path; a first switch that includes a diode and is provided in the first electrical path such that a forward direction of the diode is a charge direction of the energy storage apparatus; a second electrical path connected to the adjacent battery circuit in parallel with the energy storage cell and the first switch; and a second switch that includes a diode and is provided in the second electrical path such that a forward direction of the diode is a discharge direction of the energy storage apparatus, and is turned on when the first switch is turned off.

Discussed is an electrolyte solution for a lithium-sulfur battery including a lithium salt, an organic solvent and an additive, and a lithium-sulfur battery including the same, wherein the additive includes a heterocyclic compound containing at least one double bond, and a heterocycle of the heterocyclic compound comprises an oxygen atom or a sulfur atom.

The disclosure relates generally to batteries. The disclosure relates more specifically to improved catalyst systems for metal-air batteries. A metal-air battery comprising: an anode comprising a metal; a cathode comprising at least one transition metal dichalcogenide; and an electrolyte in contact with the anode and the transition metal dichalcogenide of the cathode, wherein the electrolyte comprises at least 50% by weight of an ionic liquid, is disclosed herein.