An energy storage device, such as a silver oxide battery, can include a silver-containing cathode and an electrolyte having an ionic liquid. An anion of the ionic liquid is selected from the group consisting of: methanesulfonate, methylsulfate, acetate, and fluoroacetate. A cation of the ionic liquid can be selected from the group consisting of: imidazolium, pyridinium, ammonium, piperidinium, pyrrolidinium, sulfonium, and phosphonium. The energy storage device may include a printed or non-printed separator. The printed separator can include a gel including dissolved cellulose powder and the electrolyte. The non-printed separator can include a gel including at least partially dissolved regenerate cellulose and the electrolyte. An energy storage device fabrication process can include applying a plasma treatment to a surface of each of a cathode, anode, separator, and current collectors. The plasma treatment process can improve wettability, adhesion, electron and/or ionic transport across the treated surface.

Process for the preparation of electrodes from a porous material making it possible to obtain electrodes that are useful in electrochemical systems and that have at least one of the following properties: a high capacity in mAh/gram, a high capacity in mAh/liter, a good capacity for cycling, a low rate of self-discharge, and a good environmental tolerance.

A method for manufacturing a negative electrode, the method including immersing a preliminary negative electrode in a pre-lithiation solution, the pre-lithiation solution including a lithium organic compound and a pre-lithiation solvent, taking the preliminary negative electrode out of the pre-lithiation solution and then removing pre-lithiation solvent present in the preliminary negative electrode, wherein the preliminary negative electrode includes a current collector and a preliminary negative electrode active material layer on the current collector, the preliminary negative electrode active material layer includes a negative electrode active material, and a standard reduction potential of the lithium organic compound is lower than a standard reduction potential of the negative electrode active material.

Proposed is a method of manufacturing an anode for a lithium secondary battery, including a pre-lithiation step.

An electrode including an electrochemical layer defining a surface having a plurality of dimples formed thereon is provided. The dimples have an average lateral size greater than or equal to about 100 nm to less than or equal to about 100 μm, and an average depth greater than or equal to about 100 nm to less than or equal to about 50 μm. In certain variations, the dimples are formed in situ by applying a current to the electrochemical layer. In other variations, the dimples are formed by moving a roller having a plurality of shapes defined thereon along one or more surfaces of the electrochemical layer. In still other variations, the dimples are formed by contacting one or more surfaces of the electrochemical layer with a chemical etchant.

A method of forming a semiconductor structure includes forming at least one trench in a non-porous silicon substrate, the at least one trench providing an energy storage device containment feature. The method also includes forming an electrical and ionic insulating layer disposed over a top surface of the non-porous silicon substrate. The method further includes forming, in at least a base of the at least one trench, a porous silicon layer of unitary construction with the non-porous silicon substrate. The porous silicon layer provides at least a portion of a first active electrode for an energy storage device disposed in the energy storage device containment feature.

A lithium secondary battery is disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a lithium secondary battery includes: a battery case having an interior region, a separator, wherein the separator divides the interior region into a first region and a second region, a positive electrode formed in the first region and including a positive electrode active material and positive electrode current collector particles; and a negative electrode formed in the second region and including a negative electrode active material and negative electrode current collector particles.

Methods of synthesizing few-layer two-dimensional (2D) Sb.sub.2S.sub.3 nanosheets using scalable chemical exfoliation are provided. The 2D Sb.sub.2S.sub.3 nanosheets can be developed as bi-functional anode materials in both lithium ion batteries and sodium ion batteries. The unique structural and functional features brought by 2D Sb.sub.2S.sub.3 nanosheets can offer short electron/ion diffusion paths and abundant active sites for surface redox reactions.

A method for multi-electrolyte activation or refurbishment of an electrochemical cell uses a first electrolyte to electrochemically decompose electrolyte components onto an electrode surface to create an electrode-electrolyte interphase (EEI). Once the EEI is created, the first electrolyte may be extracted so that a second electrolyte can be introduced into the electrochemical cell. The second electrolyte can interact with the EEI to optimize performance over a broader range of conditions than if the second electrolyte were interacting with the bare electrode. This method also allows for refurbishment of an electrochemical cell. Various structures may be provided on the electrochemical cell itself to facilitate the method.

The present application describes the use of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) fluorinating precursor and/or an SEI fluorinating compound to coat an electrode material and create an artificial SEI layer. These modifications may increase surface passivation of the electrodes, SEI robustness, and structural stability of the silicon-containing electrodes.