1286results about "Fuel and primary cells" patented technology

One aspect of the present invention provides a rechargeable electrochemical cell system for generating electrical current using a fuel and an oxidant. The cell system comprises N electrochemical cells each comprising a fuel electrode, an oxidant electrode, a charging electrode, and an ionically conductive medium communicating the electrodes, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to two. Any number of cells may be used. The cell system includes a plurality of switches that are switcheable to a discharge mode coupling the oxidant electrode of each cell to the fuel electrode of the subsequent cell, a charge mode coupling the charging electrode of each cell to the fuel electrode of the subsequent cell, and a bypass mode coupling charging electrode or the oxidant electrode of a previous cell to the fuel electrode of a subsequent cell.

This invention provides a nano-structured anode composition for a lithium metal cell. The composition comprises: (a) an integrated structure of electrically conductive nanometer-scaled filaments that are interconnected to form a porous network of electron-conducting paths comprising interconnected pores, wherein the nano-filaments have a transverse dimension less than 500 nm; and (b) micron- or nanometer-scaled particles of lithium, a lithium alloy, or a lithium-containing compound wherein at least one of the particles is surface-passivated or stabilized and the weight fraction of these particles is between 1% and 99% based on the total weight of these particles and the integrated structure together. Also provided is a lithium metal cell or battery, or lithium-air cell or battery, comprising such an anode. The battery exhibits an exceptionally high specific capacity, an excellent reversible capacity, and a long cycle life.

A metal-air battery is disclosed in one embodiment of the invention as including a cathode to reduce oxygen molecules and an alkali-metal-containing anode to oxidize the alkali metal (e.g., Li, Na, and K) contained therein to produce alkali-metal ions. An aqueous catholyte is placed in ionic communication with the cathode to store reaction products generated by reacting the alkali-metal ions with the oxygen containing anions. These reaction products are stored as solutes dissolved in the aqueous catholyte. An ion-selective membrane is interposed between the alkali-metal containing anode and the aqueous catholyte. The ion-selective membrane is designed to be conductive to the alkali-metal ions while being impermeable to the aqueous catholyte.

The present application is directed to mesoporous carbon materials comprising bi-functional catalysts. The mesoporous carbon materials find utility in any number of electrical devices, for example, in lithium-air batteries. Methods for making the disclosed carbon materials, and devices comprising the same, are also disclosed.

A system provides an environmental barrier also useful for providing a circuit, for example, one having a thin-film battery such as one that includes lithium or lithium compounds connected to an electronic circuit. An environmental barrier is deposited as alternating layers, at least one of the layers providing a smoothing, planarizing, and/or leveling physical-configuration function, and at least one other layer providing a diffusion-barrier function. The layer providing the physical-configuration function may include a photoresist, a photodefinable, an energy-definable, and/or a maskable layer. The physical-configuration layer may also be a dielectric. A layered structure, including a plurality of pairs of layers, each pair including a physical configuration layer and a barrier layer with low gas-transmission rates, may be used in reducing gas transmission rate to beyond currently detectable levels.

The present invention relates to a metal-air electrochemical cell with a high energy efficiency mode.

A fuel cell system is described for providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising: lawn & garden equipment; radios; telephone; targeting equipment; battery rechargers; laptops; communications devices; sensors; night vision equipment; camping equipment; stoves; lanterns; lights; vehicles; cars; recreational vehicles; trucks; boats; ferries; motorcycles; motorized scooters; forklifts; golf carts; lawnmowers; industrial carts; passenger carts (airport); luggage handling equipment (airports); airplanes; lighter than air crafts; blimps; dirigibles; hovercrafts; trains; locomotives; submarines (manned and unmanned); torpedoes; security systems; electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source; equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof. The system provides power to the one or more loads upon the occurrence of a power outage condition, which includes a disruption or discontinuation in the delivery of primary power (i.e., power from a system-external primary source, namely, a source other than the fuel cell system) to, or power demand condition by, the one or more loads. A controller senses outage of primary power to, or demand for primary power by, the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, operatively engages one or more fuel cells to provide power to the one or more loads.

Protected anode architectures for active metal anodes have a polymer adhesive seal that provides an hermetic enclosure for the active metal of the protected anode inside an anode compartment. The compartment is substantially impervious to ambient moisture and battery components such as catholyte (electrolyte about the cathode), and prevents volatile components of the protected anode, such as anolyte (electrolyte about the anode), from escaping. The architecture is formed by joining the protected anode to an anode container. The polymer adhesive seals provide an hermetic seal at the joint between a surface of the protected anode and the container.

An improved gas-diffusion cathode for use in an electrochemical cell comprising an electrically conductive cathode member having a first side communicable with an aqueous electrolyte and a second side communicable with a gaseous medium; and a water-impermeable membrane adjacent said cathode member second side to reduce passage of liquid water between said cathode member and said gaseous medium and having a membrane first side and a membrane second side wherein said membrane first side faces said cathode member and wherein said water-impermeable membrane comprises one or more portions defining one or more openable and closeable apertures the improvement wherein said apertures are associated with one or more integrally-formed resiliently flexible flaps on said membrane first side to effect said opening and closing. The batteries have reduced unwanted water vapour ingress and egress characteristics in its no-load mode.

A fuel cell comprising: (a) a binary anode, (b) a cathode, and (c) a liquid electrolyte disposed between and interacting with the binary anode and the cathode, wherein the binary anode includes at least one liquid fuel and at least one solid fuel. Preferably, the electrolyte includes an alcohol such as methanol, and the solid fuel includes aluminum, magnesium and/or zinc.

Active metal fuel cells are provided. An active metal fuel cell has a renewable active metal (e.g., lithium) anode and a cathode structure that includes an electronically conductive component (e.g., a porous metal or alloy), an ionically conductive component (e.g., an electrolyte), and a fluid oxidant (e.g., air, water or a peroxide or other aqueous solution). The pairing of an active metal anode with a cathode oxidant in a fuel cell is enabled by an ionically conductive protective membrane on the surface of the anode facing the cathode.

The present application is directed to carbon materials comprising an optimized pore structure. The carbon materials comprise enhanced electrochemical properties and find utility in any number of electrical devices, for example, as electrode material in ultracapacitors. Methods for making the disclosed carbon materials are also disclosed.

An electrochemical cell comprising an electrolyte comprising water and a hydrophobic ionic liquid comprising positive ions and negative ions. The electrochemical cell also includes an air electrode configured to absorb and reduce oxygen. A hydrophilic or hygroscopic additive modulates the hydrophobicity of the ionic liquid to maintain a concentration of the water in the electrolyte is between 0.001 mol % and 25 mol %.

The invention is a method for increasing the airflow to a zinc-air battery such that the energy density is 500 mwh/cc to 1000 mwh/cc. This allows 8 to 16 hours use as a primary (throw-away) battery, with, for example, high-duty cycle, high-drain cochlear implants, and neuromuscular stimulators for nerves, muscles, and both nerves and muscles together. The systems incorporating the high energy density source are also part of the invention, as well as the resulting apparatus of the method. The uses of this inexpensive, i.e., a $1.00 per day, throw-away primary battery are new uses of the modified zinc-air battery and are directed toward helping people hear again, walk again, and regain body functionality which they have otherwise lost permanently.

Methods of preparing hetero ionic complexes, and ionic liquids from bisulfate salts of heteroatomic compounds using dialkylcarbonates as a primary quaternizing reactant are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of making electrochemical cells comprising the ionic liquids, and an electrochemical cell comprising an alkaline electrolyte and a hetero ionic complex additive.

A metal-air semi-fuel cell is provided, preferably based on lithium anode and a fuel cell type air/oxygen electrode immersed in an aqueous neutral, alkali or acid solution. The lithium anode is comprised of the active metal and one or more separators protecting the anode from reacting with an aqueous solution. The outermost layer on the lithium electrode is a solid-state lithium-ion conducting glass-ceramic which is impervious to and stable towards aqueous solutions. The cathode is comprised of an air or oxygen fuel cell type electrode in contact with the aqueous solution. The lithium anode of this invention also can be replaced by other electroactive metals which react with water and acids, bases and neutral solutions, such as metals from Groups 1 and 2 of the Periodic Table of Elements in addition to Zn, Mg, and Al.

A microvalve for controlling fluid flow, including a body portion having a plurality of spaced openings formed therein, a shutter located adjacent to and substantially parallel with the body portion having a plurality of spaced openings formed therein, a drive mechanism for causing the shutter to move laterally with respect to the body portion so that the spaced openings of the shutter are brought into and out of alignment with the spaced openings of the body portion, wherein the microvalve is in an open position and a closed position, respectively, and, a latching mechanism for preventing the shutter from moving laterally with respect to the body portion.

The present invention belongs to electrochemical technical field, specifically a high specific energy charging full-solid lithium air battery. The battery structure is: firstly an air diffusion layer, then an air electrode, composed of a meso-porous carbon/manganese oxide composite material, an oxygen-reduction catalyst and a macromolecule lithium electrolyte, next a multilayer aqueous vapour cover, not only serving as a electrolyte layer of the battery, but also blocking water an oxidation entering of the air, finally a metal lithium. The whole battery is sealed in the multiplayer metal/plastic, a portable sealing is on the top of the air diffusion layer which is opened when the battery is used, closed when the battery is not used. The invention adopts lithium air battery made by the meso-porous carbon / manganese oxide composite material and the room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte, the capacity achieves 800mAh/g, cycling more than 50 times. In the lithium air battery, the metal lithium has effective protection, making the Li/O2 reaction only in the electrochemical reaction, the lithium air battery not only has battery electrochemical capability, but also has excellent safety ability.

A method for generating power in a device is provided. The method includes: generating power from an inherent characteristic of the device; and supplying the generated power to at least one power consuming element associated with the device. Preferably, the inherent characteristic of the device is an acceleration of the device and the generating includes providing a mass which is movable upon the acceleration of the device and converting a potential energy of the mass into an electrical power. Alternatively, the inherent characteristic of the device is a heat generation on at least a portion of the device and the generating includes converting a heat from the heat generation into an electrical power. In another alternative, the inherent characteristic of the device is a spinning of the device and the generating includes converting the spinning of the device into an electrical power.

A metal-air battery or fuel cell comprising a metal or metal hydride anode, an aqueous liquid electrolyte containing an ion conducting material, and an air electrode which allows ingress and egress of oxygen and which contains one or more catalysts capable of evolution and/or reduction of oxygen, wherein the air electrode has both hydrophobic and hydrophilic pores, the hydrophilic pores are at least partially filled with aqueous liquid electrolyte and the air electrode and/or the electrolyte comprises hygroscopic material and OH⁻ ions, whereby water vapour exchange with the environment is limited. The hygroscopic material is used to control the humidity of the system.

A power source comprised of a metal-air battery pack and a non-metal-air battery pack is provided, wherein thermal energy from the metal-air battery pack is used to heat the non-metal-air battery pack. In one aspect, a thermal energy transfer system is provided that controls the flow of thermal energy from the metal-air battery pack to the non-metal-air battery pack. In another aspect, the flow of thermal energy from the metal-air battery pack to the non-metal-air battery pack is controlled and used to heat the non-metal-air battery pack prior to charging the non-metal-air battery pack.

A rechargeable electrical storage device is disclosed, where one embodiment utilizes an anion (“A”) conducting electrolyte (18) and ion transfer between two electrodes (17, 19) where one electrode is preferably a metal electrode 19 that contains a mixture of metal and metal oxide, so that during operation, oxide-ions shuttle between the two electrodes (17, 19) in charging and discharging modes and the metal electrode (19) serves as a reservoir of species relevant to anion “A”.

The invention relates to an aluminum air fuel cell system, and particularly relates to the aluminum air fuel cell system with a temperature control system, a hydrogen discharging system and a filtration system and having a circulating electrolyte. The system includes an electrolyte tank, a cell stack and a ventilation system; also includes an electrolyte supplied system, an electrolyte return system, the hydrogen discharging system, a temperature measurement system, the filtration system and a heat dissipation system. The system can realize circulation of the electrolyte, effectively separates precipitation, controls a hydrogen content and an internal temperature of cells, meets requirements of high power output and long time running, and can be widely applied to the field of power cells for electric vehicles and large standby power supplies.

A refuelable and rechargable metal-air FCB based power supply unit for integration into a device/system for generating and providing electrical power to at least one electrical-energy-consuming load device disposed therein. An external power source is used to recharge the metal-air FCB subsystems embodied therein. A control subsystem automatically transitions between discharging mode (wherein at least one metal-air FCB subsystem supplies electrical power to the electrical power-consuming load device) and a recharging mode (wherein the external power source is electrically coupled to at least one metal-air FCB subsystem to thereby recharge the metal-air FCB subsystem(s). The metal-air FCB subsystem(s) are refueled by manually loading and unloading metal-fuel from the metal-air FCB subsystem(s). Preferably, electrical power provided to the at least one electrical power-consuming load device is supplied solely by electrical power generated by discharging metal-fuel in the metal-air fuel cell battery subsystem(s). In addition, the metal-air FCB subsystem(s) preferably has a modular architecture that enable flexible and user-friendly operations in loading of metal-fuel, unloading of consumed metal-fuel, replacement of the ionic-conducting medium, and replacement of the cathode.

The present invention is usable in oxygen electrodes and air electrodes for air cells, fuel cells, electrochemical sensors and like electrochemical devices. The present invention provides a very stable oxygen-reducing electrode that can achieve electrochemical reduction of oxygen at a noble potential.

The oxygen-reducing electrode of the present invention contains a cobalt tetrapyrazinoporphyrazine derivative represented by the following Structural Formula (1) as a catalytic component.

A metal air cell system is provided. The system includes a cathode having a pair of oxidant sides and anode sides. An anode is provided in two parts, each part having a side complementary each anode side of the cathode. A separator is disposed between the anode and cathode to electrically isolate the anode and the cathode. Electrolyte is disposed between the cathode and the anode, the electrolyte provided within the anode, separately at the interface between the cathode and the anode, or both within the anode and separately at the interface between the cathode and the anode. This configuration generally allows a single oxidant flow to be exposed to both portions of the cathode due to the central passage of the oxidant.

A device for extending zinc-air battery life for intermittent use with a battery chamber that allows air to flow to the batteries when needed, a battery chamber to completely seal off air flow to the batteries when the device is off, a tension device that enables stacking of zinc-air hearing aid batteries without cutting off air flow between the batteries, a battery chamber with minimal air volume.

One or more interfacial layers in contact with a solid-state electrolyte and hybrid electrolyte materials. Interfacial layers comprise inorganic (e.g., metal oxides and soft inorganic materials) or organic materials (e.g., polymer materials, gel materials and ion-conducting liquids). The interfacial layers can improve the electrical properties (e.g., reduce the impedance) of an interface between an a cathode and/or anode and a solid-state electrolyte. The interfacial layers can be used in, for example, solid-state batteries (e.g., solid-state, ion-conducting batteries).

An electrochemical power system including one or more fuel cells integrated on or into a substrate is described. For each fuel cell, at least two stacked layers comprising a cathode layer and an ion exchange layer are situated within the substrate. A first access path for allowing an oxidant to access the cathode layer is provided from one side of the substrate, and a second access path for allowing a fuel or a reaction medium containing a fuel to access a layer in the stack is provided from the other side of the substrate. A third access path, which may be the same or different from the second access path, allows egress of one or more reaction products from the layer. A first conductor connects to the cathode, and a second conductor connects to the second access path or the layer in the stack accessible through the second access path. A regeneration unit for regenerating fuel from one or more reaction products also can be integrated on or into the substrate. The regeneration unit comprises a reaction chamber with one or more areas of ingress and one or more areas of egress. A first flow path interconnects the one or more areas of egress of the reaction chamber with the second access path of the one or more fuel cells. A second flow path interconnects the third access path of the one or more fuel cells with the one or more areas of ingress of the reaction chamber.

A lithium air battery capable of being used for a long time with little deterioration due to influence by moisture in the air in which oxygen supply to a porous cathode is not inhibited by an air electrode current collector is provided. The lithium air battery includes an oxygen permselective film that is less likely to transmit moisture vapor and that selectively transmits oxygen, an oxygen chamber that stores oxygen, an air electrode current collector made of a porous material, a diffusion layer that is arranged between the air electrode current collector and a porous cathode and is made of a conductive material, the porous cathode containing a conductive material and a catalyst material, a separator that is less likely to pass moisture vapor, a nonaqueous electrolyte, an anode that extracts lithium ions, and an anode current collector. The lithium air battery may have a water-repellent layer.