Electrochemical cell

1. An electrochemical cell, comprising:

a housing comprising a metallic material, wherein the housing defines a portion of an anode compartment containing an alkali metal, wherein the alkali metal is selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, and potassium;

a separator disposed in the housing, and the anode compartment is disposed between the housing and an anode surface of the separator; and

a component disposed within the anode compartment adjacent to the anode surface of the separator, wherein the component comprises a sacrificial metal having an oxidation potential less than the oxidation potential of the housing material, wherein the sacrificial metal comprises a metal or a metal alloy comprising manganese, titanium, magnesium, copper, or zinc, wherein the component comprising the sacrificial metal comprises a shim-structure, the shim structure being a separate structure from the anode surface of the separator.

2. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the housing is circular, elliptical, or polygonal in cross section.

3. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the metallic material of the housing comprises iron, nickel, molybdenum, or an alloy thereof.

4. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the alkali metal is sodium.

5. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the separator is cylindrical, elongated, tubular, or cup-shaped.

6. The electrochemical cell of claim 5 , wherein the separator has a cross-sectional profile that is a circle, an oval or ellipse, a polygon, a cross-shape, a star-shape, or a cloverleaf shape.

7. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the separator comprises an alkali metal ion-conducting material.

8. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the separator further includes a cathode surface defining a cathode compartment that is in ionic communication with the anode compartment through the separator.

9. The electrochemical cell of claim 8 , wherein the cathode compartment is disposed within the anode compartment.

10. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the component comprising the sacrificial material is present in the form of a rod, a strip, a plate, a sheet, a shim, a sphere, a cube, or combinations thereof.

11. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the component comprising the sacrificial metal is present in an irregular shape.

12. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the shim-structure includes a single-shim.

13. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the shim structure comprises multiple shims.

14. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the shim-structure has a shape that substantially conforms to the anode surface of the separator.

15. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the separator has a height dimension generally perpendicular to a base of the housing, and the shim-structure extends to the full height of the separator.

16. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the component comprises zinc or a zinc-containing ahoy.

17. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the component comprises copper or a copper-containing alloy.

18. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the component comprises brass.

19. The electrochemical cell of claim 1 , wherein the sacrificial metal is included in a coating that at least partially covers the component.

20. An electrochemical cell, comprising:

a housing having an interior surface defining a volume; and comprising iron;

a tubular ion-conducting separator disposed in the volume, and having an anode surface defining a portion of an anode compartment containing an alkali metal, the alkali metal selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, and potassium; and

a shim structure disposed within the anode compartment, generally adjacent and parallel to the anode surface of the separator, wherein the shim structure comprises zinc and is a separate structure from the anode surface of the separator.

21. An energy storage device comprising: a plurality of the electrochemical cells of claim 20 , wherein the cells are in thermal and electrical communication with one another.