Described herein are improved composite anodes and lithium-ion batteries made therefrom. Further described are methods of making and using the improved anodes and batteries. In general, the anodes include a porous composite having a plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites. At least one of the plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites is formed from a dendritic particle, which is a three-dimensional, randomly-ordered assembly of nanoparticles of an electrically conducting material and a plurality of discrete non-porous nanoparticles of a non-carbon Group 4A element or mixture thereof disposed on a surface of the dendritic particle. At least one nanocomposite of the plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites has at least a portion of its dendritic particle in electrical communication with at least a portion of a dendritic particle of an adjacent nanocomposite in the plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites.

Described herein are improved composite anodes and lithium-ion batteries made therefrom. Further described are methods of making and using the improved anodes and batteries. In general, the anodes include a porous composite having a plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites. At least one of the plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites is formed from a dendritic particle, which is a three-dimensional, randomly-ordered assembly of nanoparticles of an electrically conducting material and a plurality of discrete non-porous nanoparticles of a non-carbon Group 4A element or mixture thereof disposed on a surface of the dendritic particle. At least one nanocomposite of the plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites has at least a portion of its dendritic particle in electrical communication with at least a portion of a dendritic particle of an adjacent nanocomposite in the plurality of agglomerated nanocomposites.

An electricity storage device includes a negative electrode having a layered structure that includes an organic backbone layer containing an aromatic compound having an aromatic ring structure, the aromatic compound being in the form of dicarboxylate anions, and an alkali metal element layer containing an alkali metal element coordinated with oxygen in the dicarboxylate anions to form a backbone, a positive electrode that provides electric double-layer capacity, and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution provided between the negative electrode and the positive electrode, the nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing an alkali metal salt. The layered structure may be provided in layers by a π-electron interaction of the aromatic compound and may have a monoclinic crystal structure belonging to the space group P2.sub.1/c. The positive electrode may contain activated carbon having a specific surface area of 1,000 m.sup.2/g or more.

An electricity storage device includes a negative electrode having a layered structure that includes an organic backbone layer containing an aromatic compound having an aromatic ring structure, the aromatic compound being in the form of dicarboxylate anions, and an alkali metal element layer containing an alkali metal element coordinated with oxygen in the dicarboxylate anions to form a backbone, a positive electrode that provides electric double-layer capacity, and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution provided between the negative electrode and the positive electrode, the nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing an alkali metal salt. The layered structure may be provided in layers by a π-electron interaction of the aromatic compound and may have a monoclinic crystal structure belonging to the space group P2.sub.1/c. The positive electrode may contain activated carbon having a specific surface area of 1,000 m.sup.2/g or more.

The present invention provides compositions including polyelectrolyte complexes. The composition includes: 1) an inorganic salt comprising a metal ion having a charge of at least +1 and an anion having a charge of at least −1; and 2) a complex comprising a first species and a second species, wherein the first species is a positively charged polymerizable monomer or a first charged polymer comprising one or more positively charged monomer repeat units; the second species is a negatively charged polymerizable monomer or a second charged polymer comprising one or more negatively charged monomer repeat units; and the complex has a net charge of near zero. These compositions are useful for ion selective applications in electrochemical devices.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lithium-ion secondary battery having a large charge and discharge capacity and excellent cycle characteristics irrespective of kind and shape of a current collector. The lithium-ion secondary battery comprises an electrode comprising a primer layer for protecting a current collector and a crosslinking agent layer comprising a compound being capable of crosslinking an aqueous binder contained in the primer layer, the both layers being disposed between a current collector and an active material layer comprising a sulfur-based active material.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lithium-ion secondary battery having a large charge and discharge capacity and excellent cycle characteristics irrespective of kind and shape of a current collector. The lithium-ion secondary battery comprises an electrode comprising a primer layer for protecting a current collector and a crosslinking agent layer comprising a compound being capable of crosslinking an aqueous binder contained in the primer layer, the both layers being disposed between a current collector and an active material layer comprising a sulfur-based active material.

A negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery including a lithium metal layer; a first protective layer formed on a surface of the lithium metal layer; and a second protective layer formed on a surface of the first protective layer opposite the lithium metal layer, wherein the first protective layer and the second protective layer are different from each other in at least one property selected from the group consisting of ion conductivity and electrolyte uptake.

A fluid delivery system can include a spray gun. The spray gun can include a mix chamber assembly having at least two bores configured to receive a first fluid and a second fluid, and a chamber fluidly coupled to the at least two bores, the chamber configured to mix the first and the second fluid. The spray gun can include a handle and a winged extension disposed to contact at least a portion of an operator's back hand when the operator holds the spray gun via the handle.

A fluid delivery system can include a spray gun. The spray gun can include a mix chamber assembly having at least two bores configured to receive a first fluid and a second fluid, and a chamber fluidly coupled to the at least two bores, the chamber configured to mix the first and the second fluid. The spray gun can include a handle and a winged extension disposed to contact at least a portion of an operator's back hand when the operator holds the spray gun via the handle.