Polymers and the use thereof as lubricating agents in the production of alkali metal films

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10106758-B2
Application number	US-201515300412-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2015
Priority date	Apr 1, 2014
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

The present invention relates to polymers used as rolling lubricating agents, to compositions comprising said polymers, and to alkali metal films including the polymers or compositions on the surface(s) thereof. The use of said polymers and compositions is also described for strip-rolling alkali metals or alloys thereof in order to obtain thin films. Methods for producing said thin films, which are suitable for use in electrochemical cells, are also described. The present invention proposes an improved lubricant according to formula I, which, for example, achieves enhanced conductivity, and/or enables the production of electrochemical cells having an improved life span in cycles.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A composition including a lubricating agent together with a solvent that is inert with respect to the alkali metals, the lubricating agent consisting of a polymer of Formula I

in which
m and n denote the number of repeated units A and B, respectively, in the polymer; m being a positive whole number and n being a positive whole number or zero when the repeated unit B is absent, and where m and n are selected so that the molecular weight of the polymer of Formula I is in the range from 1000 to 10 6 ;
R 1 , independently at each occurrence, is selected from the linear or branched monovalent hydrocarbon radicals;
R 2 , independently at each occurrence, is selected from CH 2 CH 2 O— and —CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O—, where R 2 is bound to N by a carbon atom, or R 2 is absent and N is covalently bound to R 4 ;
R 3 , independently at each occurrence, is selected from the linear or branched monovalent hydrocarbon radicals;
R 4 , independently at each occurrence, is a polyether residue of formula [CH(R 5 )CH 2 O] s CH 3 , where 5≤s≤100; and
R 5 , independently at each occurrence, is a hydrogen atom or a CH 3 group.

2. The composition according to claim 1 , in which m and n are selected so that the molecular weight of the lubricating agent of Formula I is in the range from 2000 to 250,000.

3. The composition according to claim 1 , in which m and n are selected so that the molecular weight of the lubricating agent of Formula I is in the range from 2000 to 50,000.

4. The composition according to claim 1 , in which m and n are selected so that the molecular weight of the lubricating agent of Formula I is in the range from 50,000 to 200,000.

5. The composition according to claim 1 , in which R 1 , independently at each occurrence, is a linear or branched hydrocarbon radical of formula C r H 2r+1 , where 4≤r≤24.

6. The composition according to claim 1 , in which R 3 , independently at each occurrence, is a linear or branched hydrocarbon radical of formula C t H 2t+1 , where 4≤t≤24.

7. The composition according to claim 1 , in which 8≤s≤50.

8. The composition according to claim 1 , in which the ratio of the repeated units A:B expressed as mole percent in the polymer is in the range from 100:0 to 10:90.

9. The composition according to claim 1 , in which R 2 is a divalent radical of formula —CH 2 CH 2 O—.

10. The composition according to claim 1 , in which R 2 is a divalent radical of formula —CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O—.

11. The composition according to claim 1 , in which R 2 is absent.

12. The composition according to claim 1 , in which R 4 is selected from:
a) a polyether residue of formula —[CH(R 5 )CH 2 O] s CH 3 , in which R 5 is CH 3 at each occurrence;
b) a polyether residue of formula —[CH(R 5 )CH 2 O] s CH 3 , in which R 5 is a hydrogen at each occurrence; and
c) a polyether residue of formula —[CH(R 5 )CH 2 O] s CH 3 , and in which R 5 , independently at each occurrence, is CH 3 or hydrogen, such that R 4 is a polyether residue including repeated units of propylene oxide (PO) and of ethylene oxide (EO).

13. The composition according to claim 12 , wherein R 4 is a polyether residue of formula —[CH(R 5 )CH 2 O] s CH 3 , and in which R 5 , independently at each occurrence, is CH 3 or hydrogen, such that R 4 is a polyether residue including repeated units of propylene oxide (PO) and of ethylene oxide (EO) in which the polyether residue has a molar ratio of PO:EO between about 20:1 and about 1:30.

14. The composition according to claim 12 , in which the polyether residue has a molecular weight between about 300 g/mole and about 5000 g/mole.

15. The composition according to claim 1 , in which the solvent is selected from hydrocarbon solvents, aromatic solvents and mixtures thereof.

16. The composition according to claim 15 , in which the solvent is a system of solvents, including at least one aromatic solvent and at least one hydrocarbon solvent.

17. The composition according to claim 1 , in which the lubricating agent is present at a concentration from about 0.001% to about 10% (weight/volume) with respect to the total volume of the composition.

18. A method for producing an alkali metal film, the method including the steps of:
a) application of a composition according to claim 1 on at least one of the first and second surfaces of an alkali metal strip, in order to obtain a lubricated alkali metal strip; and
b) rolling the lubricated alkali metal strip obtained in step (a) between at least two rollers, in order to produce an alkali metal film.

19. The method according to claim 18 , which is performed in an essentially dry air atmosphere, in an anhydrous chamber or a chamber with controlled humidity with a dew point between −45 and −55° C., for 0.7 to 2.2% relative humidity.

20. The composition according to claim 1 , in which the lubricating agent is selected from Polymers 1 to 5:

Ratio A:B
Molecular

R 4
(approx.
weight

Polymer
R 1
R 2
R 3
(PO:EO)
mole %)
(approx.)

1
C 16 H 33
Absent
Absent
 3:19
100:0
5000

2
C 16 H 33
Absent
Absent
10:31
100:0
5000

3
C 16 H 33
Absent
C 18 H 37
 3:19
 33:67
145,000-

175,000

4
C 16 H 33
Absent
C 18 H 37
10:31
 20:80
165,000-

195,000

5
C 16 H 33
Absent
Absent
29:6 
100:0
 7000.

Assignees

• Hydro Quebec
• Hydro Quebec

Inventors

• Zaghib Karim
• Armand Michel
• Bouchard Patrick
• Verreault Serge
• Hamel-Påquet Julie
• Girard Gabriel

Classifications

• C10N2050/023

  Multi-layer lubricant coatings · CPC title

• C10N2040/17

  for electric contacts · CPC title

• C10N2020/04

  Molecular weight; Molecular weight distribution · CPC title

• C10N2060/09

  Treatment with nitrogen containing compounds · CPC title

• C10M2205/028

  containing aliphatic monomers having more than four carbon atoms · CPC title