Granted Patent B2

US 12,278,342 · App. 17/644,246 · Granted Apr 15, 2025

Inventor: Paige L. Johnson (Tulsa, OK)

Assignee: HHeLi, LLC

H01M10/24H01M4/364H01M4/485H01M4/505H01M4/5815B82Y30/00H01M2004/021H01M2004/028H01M4/244H01M2300/0014

Abstract

Claims (33)

1. A battery cell comprising:

an anode including zinc;

a cathode including a non-acidic metal oxide and an acidic metal oxide, the acidic metal oxide having a particle size less than 100 nm, the acidic metal oxide having a pH<5 and a Hammett function H0>−12, the pH measured when the acidic metal oxide is suspended in water at 5 wt %;

the acidic metal oxide being in a range of 1 wt % to 15 wt %;

the non-acidic metal oxide being in a range of 85 wt % to 99 wt % and being a different metal oxide than that of the acidic metal oxide, and

an electrolyte located between the anode and the cathode,

wherein the electrolyte is a basic alkaline electrolyte, and

wherein the non-acidic metal oxide is manganese dioxide or manganese nickel oxide.

2. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the non-acidic metal oxide is manganese dioxide.

3. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the non-acidic metal oxide is manganese nickel oxide.

4. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the acidic metal oxide is one or more of an aluminum oxide, a titanium oxide, a manganese oxide, an iron oxide, a zirconium oxide, an indium oxide, a tin oxide, an antimony oxide, or a bismuth oxide.

5. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the anode comprises zinc powder.

6. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a range of 8 wt % to 15 wt %.

7. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a range of 1 wt % to 8 wt %.

8. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a form of SnOx/G, where Sn is tin, Ox is total oxygen, x equals 1 or 2, G is at least one electron withdrawing surface group, and/distinguishes between the SnOx and the at least one electron-withdrawing surface group.

9. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte comprises KOH.

10. A method for increasing the discharge capacity of a battery cell, the battery cell comprising an anode including zinc, a cathode, and an electrolyte located between the anode and the cathode, the method comprising:

blending a non-acidic metal oxide with an acidic metal oxide to form an active material of the cathode; and

constructing the battery cell;

wherein the electrolyte is a basic alkaline electrolyte, wherein the non-acidic metal oxide is manganese dioxide or nickel manganese oxide, wherein the acidic metal oxide has a particle size less than 100 nm, the acidic metal oxide having a pH<5 and a Hammett function H0>−12, the pH measured when the acidic metal oxide is suspended in water at 5 wt %; and

wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a range of 1 wt % to 15 wt %; and

wherein, the non-acidic metal oxide is in a range of 85 wt % to 99 wt % and being a different metal oxide than that of the acidic metal oxide.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

providing the battery cell for use.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein, the non-acidic metal oxide is manganese dioxide.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein, the non-acidic metal oxide is manganese nickel oxide.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a range of 8 wt % to 15 wt %.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a range of 1 wt % to 8 wt %.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein, the acidic metal oxide is in a form of MnOx/G, where Mn is a metal, where Mn is manganese, Ox is total oxygen, x equals 2, G is at least one electron withdrawing surface group, and/distinguishes between the MnOx and the at least one electron-withdrawing surface group.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electrolyte comprises KOH.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the acidic metal oxide is one or more of an aluminum oxide, a titanium oxide, a manganese oxide, an iron oxide, a zirconium oxide, an indium oxide, a tin oxide, an antimony oxide, or a bismuth oxide.

19. The method of claim 10 , wherein the anode comprises zinc powder.

20. The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the acidic metal oxide is surface functionalized by one or more of Cl, Br, BO 3 , SO 4 , PO 4 , NO 3 , CH 3 COO, C 2 O 4 , C 2 H 2 O 4 , C 6 H 8 O 7 , or C 6 H 5 O 7 .

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (189)