| abstract |
Provided is a simple, fast, scalable, and environmentally benign method of producing graphene-stabilized lithium metal particles, comprising: a) mixing particles of a graphitic material, polymer-coated particles of a lithium-attracting seed material, and optional ball-milling media to form a mixture in an impacting chamber of an energy impacting apparatus; b) operating the apparatus with a frequency and an intensity for a length of time sufficient for peeling off graphene sheets from particles of graphitic material and transferring the peeled graphene sheets to surfaces of the polymer-coated particles and fully encapsulate the particles to produce graphene-encapsulated polymer-coated solid particles; c) recovering the graphene-encapsulated polymer-coated solid particles from the impacting chamber and removing the polymer from the particles to produce graphene balls, wherein the graphene ball has a graphene shell, a lithium-attracting seed material particle and a hollow space; and d) impregnating the graphene balls with lithium metal. |