SELENIUM IMPREGNATED MATERIALS AS FREE-STANDING ELECTRODES

1 . A material used as an electrode or an additive in an electrochemical storage device, the material comprising:

a carbon material; and

a compound selected from the group consisting of Se, SeySx, TeySx, TezSeySx and combinations thereof, where x, y and z are any value between 0 and 1, the sum of y and x being 1, and the sum of z, y and x being 1, the compound impregnated in the carbon material.

2 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein the compound is present in an amount of 9-90% by weight, based on the total weight of the material.

3 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical storage device is selected from the group consisting of an ion battery and a metal battery.

4 . The material according to claim 3 , wherein a charge transfer ion in the electrochemical storage device is selected from the group consisting of lithium ion, calcium ion, sodium ion, potassium ion, hydrogen ion, magnesium ion, ClO4—, PF6—, and a combination thereof.

5 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein the material is substantially free of open pores.

6 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein the material is monolithic.

7 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein the material is free-standing.

8 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein the carbon material comprises at least one of a plant-based material, a fossil-fuel based material, a research-grade polymer material, an organic solution material, an organic waste product material, a biological tissue material, a metal-organic framework material, and a carbon-containing synthetic material.

9 . The material according to claim 8 , wherein the plant-based material is selected from the group consisting of hemp-based material, cannabis-based material, wood-based material, ramie-based material, jute-based material, flax-based material, kenaf-based material, and combinations thereof.

10 . The material according to claim 1 , wherein:

the carbon material comprises at least one of a doped carbon material and an un-doped carbon material,

wherein the doped carbon material comprises at least one of a nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and an oxygen atom, the dopant having an atomic content of about 0.75 weight % to about 75 weight % based on the total weight of the doped carbon material.

11 . A method to improve performance of an electrochemical storage device, the method comprising:

incorporating a material according to claim 1 into the electrochemical storage device, wherein the material is incorporated into at least one of: an electrode, a separator and an electrolyte,

thereby improving at least one of: cycling stability, Coulombic efficiency (CE), solid electrolyte interphase growth (SEI), and dendrite growth.

12 . An electrochemical storage device comprising:

a housing; and

at least one electrode comprising a compound selected from the group consisting of Se, SeySx, TeySx, TezSeySx and combinations thereof, where x, y and z are any value between 0 and 1, the sum of y and x being 1, and the sum of z, y and x being 1.

13 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one electrode is a negative electrode, the negative electrode further comprising a lithium source or a sodium source.

14 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one electrode is a negative electrode, the negative electrode further comprising a graphite anode, a hard carbon anode, a tin anode, a Ge anode, or a titania anode.

15 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one electrode is a positive electrode, the positive electrode further comprising a carbon material.

16 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one electrode is a positive electrode, the positive electrode further comprising a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode, a nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) cathode, a nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cathode, or a lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode.

17 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 16 , further comprising a second electrode, the second electrode being an negative electrode selected from the group consisting of an oxide-based anode, a lithiated tin anode, a lithium metal anode, a sulfur-based anode, a selenium anode, a graphite anode, an activated carbon anode, a graphene anode, a silicon anode, a tin anode, an alloy anode, an oxide anode, a sulfide anode, and a nitride anode.

18 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 12 , further comprising at least one of a carbonate containing electrolyte and polymer separator.

19 . The electrochemical storage device according to claim 12 , wherein the housing comprises a form of a D-cell sized battery, a pouch cell, a rectangular automotive starter battery scale cell, a C-cell sized battery, an AA-cell sized battery, an AAA-cell sized battery, a 18650 lithium ion battery, or a 26650 lithium ion battery.

20 . The electrochemical storage device of claim 12 , wherein the at least one electrode is a cathode, and the electrochemical storage device further comprises a second electrode, the second electrode is an anode selected from the group consisting of an oxide-based anode, a lithiated tin anode, a lithium metal anode, a sulfur-based anode, a selenium anode, a graphite anode, an activated carbon anode, a graphene anode, a silicon anode, a tin anode, an alloy anode, an oxide anode, a sulfide anode, and a nitride anode.

21 . The electrochemical storage device of claim 12 , being an electrochemical capacitor, primary or secondary battery, a flow battery, a hybrid ion capacitor or a supercapattery.

22 . A battery comprising:

an anode;

a separator;

a cathode, the cathode comprising: a carbon material and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of Se, SeySx, TeySx, TezSeySx, and combinations thereof, where x, y and z are any value between 0 and 1, the sum of y and x being 1, and the sum of z, y and x being 1, wherein the at least one compound is impregnated into the carbon-material; and

an electrolyte.