2914results about "Fuel and primary cells" patented technology

Non-aqueous alkali metal (e.g., Li) / oxygen battery cells constructed with a protected anode that minimizes anode degradation and maximizes cathode performance by enabling the use of cathode performance enhancing solvents in the catholyte have negligible self-discharge and high deliverable capacity. In particular, protected lithium-oxygen batteries with non-aqueous catholytes have this improved performance.

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.

A solid-state metal-air electrochemical cell comprising: (A) a metal-containing electro-active anode; (B) an oxygen electro-active cathode; and (C) an ion-conducting glass electrolyte disposed between the metal-containing anode and the oxygen electro-active cathode. The cathode active material, which is oxygen gas, is not stored in the battery but rather fed from the environment. The oxygen cathode is preferably a composite carbon electrode which serves as the cathode current collector on which oxygen molecules are reduced during discharge of the battery to generate electric current. The glass electrolyte typically has an ion conductivity in the range of 5×10−5 to 2×10−3 S / cm. The electrolyte layer is preferably smaller than 10 μm in thickness and further preferably smaller than 1 μm. The anode metal is preferably lithium or lithium alloy, but may be selected from other elements such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, aluminum and zinc.

Protected anode architectures have ionically conductive protective membrane architectures that, in conjunction with compliant seal structures and anode backplanes, effectively enclose an active metal anode inside the interior of an anode compartment. This enclosure prevents the active metal from deleterious reaction with the environment external to the anode compartment, which may include aqueous, ambient moisture, and / or other materials corrosive to the active metal. The compliant seal structures are substantially impervious to anolytes, catholyes, dissolved species in electrolytes, and moisture and compliant to changes in anode volume such that physical continuity between the anode protective architecture and backplane are maintained. The protected anode architectures can be used in arrays of protected anode architectures and battery cells of various configurations incorporating the protected anode architectures or arrays.

An air lithium battery (10) is provided having two equal halves (11) that are joined together along a centerline (12). Each half includes a substrate (13), a carbon based cathode (14), a solid electrolyte (15), an anode (16), an anode current collector (17), and end seals (19). The solid electrolyte includes alternating layers of ion conductive glass (21) and ion conductive polymer (22) materials.

In a battery receiving chamber, the first convex part is formed in the internal side face of the battery compartment and the second convex part which corresponds to the first convex part is formed in the battery cover, the first and second convex part respectively having the inclined faces which gradually rise toward the rotational direction in which the battery cover is detached from the battery compartment, so that a battery receiving chamber having good usage convenience and highly reliable can be realized. Further, in a hearing aid using the above, waterproof means is located so as to block the air vent formed in the battery cover, and a slot connecting the end part of battery cover and the air vent in the external side face of the battery cover is comprised, so that a hearing aid which can supply practically sufficient volume of air into the case and has high waterproof performance can be realized. Further, the case of this hearing aid is divided into two that the first half-case for receiving the earphone, and the second half-case for receiving the microphone, and the joint part between the first and second-half cases is formed so as to substantially flat, in order to apply stress without bias to the waterproof member inserted into the joint part. Thereby, a hearing aid in which the waterproof performance can be further improved can be realized.

The invention provides part solid, part fluid and flow electrochemical cells, for example, metal-air and lithium-air batteries and three-dimensional electrode arrays for use in part solid, part fluid electrochemical and flow cells and metal-air and lithium-air batteries.

A method and apparatus for making lithium / air batteries with LiPON as separator and protective barrier, and the resulting cell(s) and / or battery(s). Some embodiments include an apparatus that includes a lithium anode; a polymer-air cathode; and a LiPON separator between the anode and cathode. In some embodiments, the polymer-air cathode includes a carbon-polyfluoroacrylate material. In some embodiments, the anode overlays a copper anode contact.

A power source comprised of a first battery pack (e.g., a non-metal-air battery pack) and a second battery pack (e.g., a metal-air battery pack) is provided, wherein the second battery pack is only used as required by the state-of-charge (SOC) of the first battery pack or as a result of the user selecting an extended range mode of operation. Minimizing use of the second battery pack prevents it from undergoing unnecessary, and potentially lifetime limiting, charge cycles. The second battery pack may be used to charge the first battery pack or used in combination with the first battery pack to supply operational power to the electric vehicle.

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.

Alkali (or other active) metal battery and other electrochemical cells incorporating active metal anodes together with aqueous cathode / electrolyte systems. The battery cells have a highly ionically conductive protective membrane adjacent to the alkali metal anode that effectively isolates (de-couples) the alkali metal electrode from solvent, electrolyte processing and / or cathode environments, and at the same time allows ion transport in and out of these environments. Isolation of the anode from other components of a battery cell or other electrochemical cell in this way allows the use of virtually any solvent, electrolyte and / or cathode material in conjunction with the anode. Also, optimization of electrolytes or cathode-side solvent systems may be done without impacting anode stability or performance. In particular, Li / water, Li / air and Li / metal hydride cells, components, configurations and fabrication techniques are provided.

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.

Ionically conducting, redox active additive composite electrolytes are disclosed. The electrolytes include an ionically conductive component and a redox active additive. The ionically conductive component may be an ionically conductive material such as an ionically conductive polymer, ionically conducting glass-ceramic, ionically conductive ceramic, and mixtures thereof. Electrical energy storage devices that employ the ionically conducting, redox active additive composite electrolytes also are disclosed

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.

An air lithium battery is provided having two equal halves (60, 69) that are joined together along a centerline. Each half includes a porous substrate (64), an oxygen cathode (67) having a non-volatile lithium ion conductive electrolyte cathode, a non-volatile electrolyte (66), and an anode (65). The electrolyte may include alternating layers of ion conductive glass or ceramic layer and ion conductive polymer layer.

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.

Systems and methods drawn to an electrochemical cell comprising a low temperature ionic liquid comprising positive ions and negative ions and a performance enhancing additive added to the low temperature ionic liquid. The additive dissolves in the ionic liquid to form cations, which are coordinated with one or more negative ions forming ion complexes. The electrochemical cell also includes an air electrode configured to absorb and reduce oxygen. The ion complexes improve oxygen reduction thermodynamics and / or kinetics relative to the ionic liquid without the additive.

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 present application is directed to methods for preparation of carbon materials. The carbon materials comprise enhanced electrochemical properties and find utility in any number of electrical devices, for example, as electrode material in ultracapacitors or batteries.

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.