Positive electrode for lithium batteries, lithium battery including the positive electrode, and methods of manufacture thereof

1. A lithium battery comprising:

a protected negative electrode comprising a lithium metal or a lithium alloy; and

a positive electrode comprising

at least one of oxygen, sulfur, an organosulfur compound, and a carbon-sulfur compound,

a polyoxometalate compound, and a conductive material,

wherein the polyoxometalate compound is represented by Formula 2:

L a [AM 12 O 40 ]  Formula 2

wherein

A is at least one of B, Al, Si, P, S, Zn, Ga, Ge, Ru, or a fourth period transition metal;

M is at least one of Mo, W, or V; and

L is at least one of a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, an actinoid, —P(R) 4 , or —N(R) 4 wherein each R is independently a hydrogen atom, a C1-C20 alkyl group, a C6-C20 aryl group, or a C2-C20 heteroaryl group, and

a is a positive integer, and

wherein the protected negative electrode comprises a negative electrode containing a lithium metal or a lithium alloy, a first electrolyte, and a protection layer.

2. The lithium battery of claim 1 , wherein the polyoxometalate compound is L 4 [SiMO 12 O 40 ], L 3 [PMo 12 O 40 ], or L 3 [PW 12 O 40 ], wherein L is tetraalkylammonium.

3. The lithium battery of claim 1 , wherein a content of the polyoxometalate compound is 1 part to 120 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the conductive material.

4. The lithium battery of claim 1 , wherein the protected negative electrode comprises

a negative electrode comprising the lithium metal or the lithium alloy,

a first electrolyte on the negative electrode, and

a protection layer on the first electrolyte and proximate to the positive electrode.

5. The lithium battery of claim 4 , wherein the protection layer comprises a lithium ion conductive solid electrolyte.

6. The lithium battery of claim 5 , wherein the lithium ion conductive solid electrolyte is in a form of a membrane.

7. The lithium battery of claim 5 , wherein the lithium ion conductive solid electrolyte comprises at least one of Li 1+x+y (Al p Ga 1−p ) x (Ti q Ge 1−q ) 2−x Si y P 3−y O 12 wherein 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1, 0≦p≦1, and 0≦q≦1, Li 3 N, Li 3+x ZrSi 3−y P 1−y O 12−x , La 0.55 Li 0.35 TiO 3 , LiTi 2 P 3 O 12 , lithium-aluminum-germanium-phosphate, lithium-aluminum-titanium-phosphate, or lithium-aluminum-titanium-silicon-phosphate.

8. The lithium battery of claim 7 , wherein the lithium ion conductive solid electrolyte comprises a glass-ceramic solid electrolyte of the formula Li 1+x+y Al x Ti 2−x Si y P 3−y O 12 wherein 0≦x≦1, and 0≦y≦1.

9. The lithium battery of claim 8 , wherein in Li 1+x+y Al x Ti 2−x Si y P 3−y O 12 , x and y satisfy 0≦x≦0.4 and 0≦y≦0.6.

10. The lithium battery of claim 4 , wherein the first electrolyte comprises an electrolyte solution comprising a lithium salt and a non-aqueous organic solvent.

11. The lithium battery of claim 10 , wherein the lithium salt is at least one of LiPF 6 , LiBF 4 , LiSbF 6 , LiAsF 6 , LiN(SO 2 C 2 F 5 ) 2 , Li(CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 N, LiC 4 F 9 SO 3 , LiClO 4 , LiAlO 2 , LiAlCl 4 , LiN(C x F 2x+1 SO 2 )(C y F 2y+1 SO 2 ), LiF, LiBr, LiCl, LiOH, LiI, or LiB(C 2 O 4 ) 2 , wherein x and y are each independently a natural number.

12. The lithium battery of claim 1 , further comprising a separator between the positive electrode and the protected negative electrode, wherein the separator comprises polyethylene, polypropylene, or a combination thereof.

13. A lithium battery comprising:

a protected negative electrode comprising a lithium metal or a lithium alloy;

a first electrolyte on the negative electrode;

a protection layer on the first electrolyte and proximate to a positive electrode, the positive electrode comprising a polyoxometalate compound and a conductive material; and

a second electrolyte, wherein the second electrolyte comprises a lithium salt and an organic solvent and is disposed between the positive electrode and the protection layer.