▎ 摘　　要

NOVELTY - Powder mass comprises multiple metal-containing graphene balls or particulates as an anode active material for a lithium battery or sodium battery, where the graphene ball or particulate comprises (a) many graphene sheets, each having a length or width of 5-100 microm and forming into the particulate having a diameter of 100-20 microm and (b) a lithium-attracting metal or sodium-attracting metal in a form of particles or coating having a diameter or thickness of 0.5-10 microm and in physical contact with the graphene sheets. The metal comprises gold, silver, magnesium, zinc, titanium, sodium, potassium, aluminum, iron, manganese, cobalt, nickel, tin, vanadium, chromium and/or its alloy and is 0.1-95 wt.% the total particulate weight. USE - The powder mass is useful in an alkali metal battery anode for lithium-ion battery or sodium-ion battery e.g. a lithium metal battery, lithium-sulfur battery, lithium-selenium battery, lithium-air battery, sodium metal battery, sodium-sulfur battery, sodium-selenium battery or sodium-air battery (all claimed). ADVANTAGE - The powder mass: provides a network of electron-conducting pathways without interruption, allowing for low resistance to electron transport and enabling the option of reducing or eliminating the addition of an electron conductivity additive in the anode; and reduces the electrode current density, which in turn significantly reduces or eliminates the possibility of lithium dendrite formation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for: (1) an alkali (a1) metal battery anode containing the powder mass as an anode active material; (2) an alkali (b1) metal battery comprising a cathode, the anode, a lithium source or a sodium source in ionic contact with the anode and an electrolyte in ionic contact with both the cathode and the anode; (3) an alkali (a2) metal battery anode containing one or many the lithium-preloaded or sodium-preloaded graphene particulates as an anode active material; (4) an alkali (b2) metal battery comprising a cathode, the anode and an electrolyte in ionic contact with both the cathode and the anode; (5) a lithium-ion battery comprising an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode and the cathode, where the anode comprises the powder mass and the cathode comprises a lithium-containing cathode active material that releases lithium ions into the electrolyte when the battery is charged and the released lithium ions move to the anode and react with the metal or form an alloy with the metal in the anode; (6) a sodium-ion battery comprising an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode and the cathode, where the anode comprises the powder mass and the cathode comprises a sodium-containing cathode active material that releases sodium ions into the electrolyte when the battery is charged and the released sodium ions move to the anode and react with the metal or form an alloy with the metal in the anode; (7) pre-lithiating or pre-sodiating a lithium-ion battery or sodium-ion battery comprising an operation of combining a first anode active material and a second anode active material in an anode of a lithium-ion battery or sodium-ion battery and introducing an electrolyte into the anode, where the first anode active material comprises the lithium-preloaded or sodium-preloaded graphene particulates; (8) producing (p1) the powder mass comprising (A) combining a lithium-attracting metal or sodium-attracting metal with multiple graphene sheets to obtain a graphene/metal mixture, where the lithium-attracting or sodium-attracting metal comprises gold, silver, magnesium, zinc, titanium, sodium, potassium, aluminum, iron, manganese, cobalt, nickel, tin, vanadium, chromium and/or its alloy and (B) forming graphene/metal mixture into a powder mass of graphene balls or particulates comprising particles or coating of the metal disposed inside the graphene balls or supported by the graphene surfaces; and (9) producing (p2) the powder mass comprising (a) depositing a metal-containing precursor onto the surfaces of multiple graphene sheets to form precursor-coated graphene sheets or mixing a metal-containing precursor with multiple graphene sheets to form a metal precursor/graphene mixture, (b) forming the precursor-coated graphene sheets or the metal precursor/graphene mixture into graphene balls comprising the metal-containing precursor therein and (c) heat treating the graphene balls to thermally convert or chemically treating the graphene balls to chemically reduce the metal precursor to a metal, where the metal resides in the pores of the resulting particulates or adheres to graphene sheet surfaces in the particulates.