The present invention provides an electric energy storage device, in particular a battery, at least comprising:—an anode comprising an alkali metal selected from lithium and sodium or a combination thereof;—a cathode comprising a sulphur-containing organosilane compound or a mixture of sulphur-containing organosilane compounds; and—an electrolyte placed between the anode and the cathode; wherein the cathode comprises a current collector surface that has been at least partly modified by grafting the sulphur-containing organosilane compound or a mixture of sulphur-containing organosilane compounds thereon.

A new class of alkoxyamines is described that exhibits improved stability on storage, especially in the presence of monomers and/or of a solvent, and particularly where the alkoxylamines are a new class of oligomeric alkoxyamines, which are obtained by addition of one or more monomeric entities to an alkoxyamine.

An electroactive device may include a primary electrode, a secondary electrode overlapping at least a portion of the primary electrode, and a tertiary electrode overlapping at least a portion of the secondary electrode. The electroactive device may also include (i) a first electroactive polymer element including a first elastomer material disposed between and abutting the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, and (ii) a second electroactive polymer element including a second elastomer material disposed between and abutting the secondary electrode and the tertiary electrode. Various other devices, methods, and systems are also disclosed.

Provided is a rechargeable alkali metal-sulfur cell comprising an anode layer, an electrolyte and a porous separator, a cathode layer, and a discrete anode-protecting layer disposed between the anode layer and the separator and/or a discrete cathode-protecting layer disposed between the separator and the cathode active material layer; wherein the anode-protecting layer or cathode-protecting layer comprises a conductive sulfonated elastomer composite having from 0.01% to 40% by weight of a conductive reinforcement material and from 0.01% to 40% by weight of an electrochemically stable inorganic filler dispersed in a sulfonated elastomeric matrix material and the protective layer has a thickness from 1 nm to 50 μm, a fully recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 500%, a lithium ion conductivity from 10.sup.−7 S/cm to 5×10.sup.−2 S/cm, and an electrical conductivity from 10.sup.−7 S/cm to 100 S/cm.

Described herein is an aqueous aluminum ion battery featuring an aluminum or aluminum alloy/composite anode, an aqueous electrolyte, and a manganese oxide, aluminosilicate or polymer-based cathode. The battery operates via an electrochemical reaction that entails an actual transport of aluminum ions between the anode and cathode. The compositions and structures described herein allow the aqueous aluminum ion battery described herein to achieve: (1) improved charge storage capacity; (2) improved gravimetric and/or volumetric energy density; (3) increased rate capability and power density (ability to charge and discharge in shorter times); (4) increased cycle life; (5) increased mechanical strength of the electrode; (6) improved electrochemical stability of the electrodes; (7) increased electrical conductivity of the electrodes, and (8) improved ion diffusion kinetics in the electrodes as well as the electrolyte.

An active material having a high capacity for negative electrodes of nonaqueous secondary batteries is provided by pyrolysis of a composite resin (A) which has a silanol group and/or a hydrolysable silyl group and which contains a polysiloxane segment (a1) and a polymer segment (a2) other than the polysiloxane segment (a1), and furthermore, a negative electrode using the above active material and a nonaqueous secondary battery including the above negative electrode are also provided. In addition, by pyrolysis of a dispersion liquid obtained from the composite resin (A), silicon particles, and an organic solvent, an active material having a high capacity for negative electrodes of nonaqueous secondary batteries is provided, and furthermore, a negative electrode using the above active material and a nonaqueous secondary battery including the above negative electrode are also provided.

An electrochemical device includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and an electrolytic solution. The positive electrode includes a conductive polymer, and the negative electrode includes a negative electrode material. The negative electrode material contains a graphite material, and an interlayer distance (d.sub.002) of the graphite material ranges from 0.336 nm to 0.338 nm, inclusive.

Provided is a composition for a non-aqueous secondary battery functional layer with which it is possible to form a functional layer that can cause a battery member for a non-aqueous secondary battery to display a balance of both high blocking resistance and high process adhesiveness. The composition for a non-aqueous secondary battery functional layer contains a particulate polymer having a core-shell structure including a core portion and a shell portion covering at least a portion of an outer surface of the core portion. The core portion is formed of a polymer A and the shell portion is formed of a polymer B including not less than 1 mol % and not more than 30 mol % of a sulfo group-containing monomer unit.

Described herein are systems and methods for the generation of electric current and/or electric potential utilizing micro- or nano-channels and capillary flow, including fluidic or microfluidic batteries and electrochemical cells. The provided systems and methods use capillary force to promote fluid flow through micro- and nano-fluidic channels by evaporating fluid at one terminus of the channel, and the resulting fluid flow generates electric potential and or current. Advantageously, the described systems and methods remove the need for pressurized vessels or external pumps, increasing net energy generation and decreasing complexity and size of potential fluidic batteries.

The invention provides a method of improving the cycle-life of a rechargeable alkali metal-sulfur cell. The method comprises implementing an anode-protecting layer between an anode active material layer and a porous separator/electrolyte, and/or implementing a cathode-protecting layer between a cathode active material and the porous separator/electrolyte, wherein the anode-protecting layer or cathode-protecting layer comprises a conductive sulfonated elastomer composite having from 0.01% to 40% by weight of a conductive reinforcement material and from 0.01% to 40% by weight of an electrochemically stable inorganic filler dispersed in a sulfonated elastomeric matrix material and the protecting layer has a thickness from 1 nm to 100 m, a fully recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 500%, a lithium ion conductivity from 10.sup.7 S/cm to 510.sup.2 S/cm, and an electrical conductivity from 10.sup.7 S/cm to 100 S/cm when measured at room temperature.