There is disclosed a method of making a surface-modified alkali metal material for electrochemical use, the method comprising bringing a barrier agent into frictional contact with an alkali metal substrate to form a tribochemical barrier layer on the substrate. Also disclosed is a surface-modified alkali metal material for electrochemical use, the material comprising an alkali metal substrate bearing a tribochemical barrier layer.

An lead-acid battery is described. The battery includes a carbon fiber electrode having a paste containing a novel additive including one or more carbons, organic expanders, and barium sulfate.

There is provided a method of synthesizing a porous carbon-sulfur composite comprising the step of carbonizing a carbon material having a metal-organic framework (MOF) at a temperature of 800-1000° C. to produce a porous carbon, mixing and heating the porous carbon with sulfur to infuse the sulfur (melt diffusion) into the pores of the porous carbon and removing excess sulfur not infused into the pores or present on the surface of the porous carbon. There is also provided a cathode comprising the porous carbon-sulfur composite and a method of preparing the cathode by mixing with conductive carbon and a polymer binder. The cathode finds use in an electrochemical cell comprising a sodium or lithium anode.

The disclosure relates to metal phosphorothioates, batteries comprising metal phosphorothioate, cells comprising metal phosphorothioate, and methods of making thereof.

A lithium secondary battery includes a cathode formed of a cathode active material including a lithium metal oxide particle having a concentration gradient, and a coating formed on the lithium metal oxide particle, the coating including aluminum, titanium and zirconium, an anode, and a separator interposed between the cathode and the anode. The cathode active material includes 2,000 ppm to 4,000 ppm of aluminum, 4,000 ppm to 9,000 ppm of titanium and 400 ppm to 700 ppm of zirconium, based on the total weight of the cathode active material. The performance of the secondary battery may be maintained under a high temperature condition.

A submicron sized Si based powder having an average primary particle size between 20 nm and 200 nm, wherein the powder has a surface layer comprising SiO.sub.x, with 0<x<2, the surface layer having an average thickness between 0.5 nm and 10 nm, and wherein the powder has a total oxygen content equal or less than 3% by weight at room temperature. The method for making the powder comprises a step where a Si precursor is vaporized in a gas stream at high temperature, after which the gas stream is quenched to obtain Si particles, and the Si particles are quenched at low temperature in an oxygen containing gas.

A secondary battery with excellent cycle performance is provided. The secondary battery is an all-solid-state battery including a positive electrode current collector layer, a base film, a positive electrode active material layer, a buffer layer, and a solid electrolyte layer. The base film contains titanium nitride. The positive electrode active material layer contains lithium cobalt oxide. The buffer layer contains titanium oxide. The solid electrolyte layer contains a titanium compound. By using titanium oxide for the buffer layer, a side reaction between the positive electrode active material layer and the solid electrolyte layer can be suppressed, and cycle performance can be improved.

The present disclosure provides a cathode material and a method for preparing the cathode material, a cathode, a lithium ion battery and a vehicle. The cathode material comprises a matrix particle, wherein the matrix particle is a monocrystal particle comprising nickel lithium manganate and nickel cobalt lithium manganate. A position in the matrix particle close to a surface layer is provided with a buffer layer. A content of at least one of elements Ni, Co and Mn in the buffer layer is lower than contents thereof in other positions of the matrix particle. The cathode material has at least one of advantages of relatively high specific capacity, cycling stability, better safety performance and the like, and the buffer layer can alleviate erosion by an electrolyte and inhibit separation of active oxygen.

A lithium ion secondary battery includes: a cathode; an anode: a separator; and an electrolytic solution containing lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF.sub.6) as a lithium salt, wherein the cathode includes a current collector and a cathode mixture formed on the current collector, and wherein the cathode mixture contains an aluminum oxide, a part or an entirety of a surface of the aluminum oxide being coated with carbon.

A negative electrode for an alkaline battery cell which includes zinc-based particles, wherein less than 20% of the zinc-based particles, by weight relative to the total zinc in the electrode, have a particle size of greater than about 150 micrometers, is provided. An alkaline electrochemical cell that includes the negative electrode and a method for reducing the gassing of the electrochemical cell is also provided.