Secondary battery using hydroxide ion-conductive ceramic separator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10446821-B2
Application number	US-201715497630-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2017
Priority date	Nov 13, 2014
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

Provided is a secondary battery including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an alkaline electrolytic solution, a separator structure exhibiting water impermeability and separating the positive electrode from the negative electrode, and a container accommodating at least the negative electrode and the alkaline electrolytic solution. The separator structure includes a porous substrate-supported ceramic separator, and a reinforcement having a lattice structure having openings and reinforcing the periphery and/or at least one surface of the porous substrate-supported ceramic separator. The porous substrate-supported ceramic separator includes a ceramic separator composed of an inorganic solid electrolyte having hydroxide ion conductivity in the form of a membrane or layer densified enough to have water impermeability, and a porous substrate disposed on at least one surface of the separator. The battery includes a porous substrate-supported ceramic separator with hydroxide ion conductivity having a high strength meeting an increase in the area of the separator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an alkaline electrolytic solution, a separator structure that exhibits water impermeability and separates the positive electrode from the negative electrode, and a container accommodating at least the negative electrode and the alkaline electrolytic solution, wherein
the separator structure comprises a reinforcement having a lattice structure including a plurality of openings and a porous substrate-supported ceramic separator fitted into each of the plurality of openings in the reinforcement such that the periphery of each porous substrate-supported ceramic separator is reinforced by the reinforcement; and
the porous substrate-supported ceramic separator comprises a ceramic separator that is composed of an inorganic solid electrolyte having hydroxide ion conductivity and is in the form of a membrane or layer densified enough to have water impermeability, and a porous substrate disposed on the at least one surface of the ceramic separator.

2. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is composed of a dense material having water impermeability.

3. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the joint between the ceramic separator and the reinforcement is liquid-tightly sealed with an adhesive and/or by thermal bonding.

4. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement further comprises a lattice extension disposed on the lattice structure and adjacent to the porous substrate; the lattice extension and the porous substrate define a plurality of compartments; and the compartments are filled with a positive- or negative-electrode active material.

5. The secondary battery according to claim 4 , wherein the lattice extension is composed of the same dense material as used for the reinforcement, or composed of a dense material different from that used for the reinforcement or a porous material.

6. The secondary battery according to claim 2 , wherein the dense material is a ceramic or resin material.

7. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is disposed on the surface of the porous substrate remote from the ceramic separator, and at least one side of the porous substrate-supported ceramic separator is reinforced by the reinforcement.

8. The secondary battery according to claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement and the porous substrate are composed of the same porous material or different porous materials.

9. The secondary battery according to claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement and the porous substrate are composed of the same porous material and integrated together.

10. The secondary battery according to claim 7 , wherein a plurality of compartments defined by the porous substrate and the reinforcement are filled with a positive- or negative-electrode active material.

11. The secondary battery according to claim 8 , wherein the porous material is a ceramic or resin material.

12. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the inorganic solid electrolyte comprises a layered double hydroxide having a basic composition represented by the formula: M 2+ I-x M 3+ x (OH) 2 A n− x/n H 2 O where M 2+ represents a divalent cation, M 3+ represents a trivalent cation, A n− represents an n-valent anion, n is an integer of 1 or more, x is 0.1 to 0.4, and m is any real number.

13. The secondary battery according to claim 12 , wherein M 2+ comprises Mg 2+ , M 3+ comprises Al 3+ , and A n− comprises Off and/or CO 3 2− in the formula.

14. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the inorganic solid electrolyte is densified through hydrothermal treatment.

15. The secondary battery according to claim 12 , wherein the layered double hydroxide comprises an aggregation of platy particles, and the platy particles are oriented such that the faces of the particles are substantially perpendicular to or oblique to the surface of the porous substrate.

16. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein the negative electrode comprises zinc, a zinc alloy, and/or a zinc compound.

17. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein:
the positive electrode comprises nickel hydroxide and/or nickel oxyhydroxide;
the electrolytic solution comprises a positive-electrode electrolytic solution in which the positive electrode is immersed, and a negative-electrode electrolytic solution in which the negative electrode is immersed;
the container accommodates the positive electrode, the positive-electrode electrolytic solution, the negative electrode, the negative-electrode electrolytic solution, and the separator structure; and
the separator structure is disposed in the container to separate a positive-electrode chamber accommodating the positive electrode and the positive-electrode electrolytic solution from a negative-electrode chamber accommodating the negative electrode and the negative-electrode electrolytic solution, whereby the battery serves as a nickel-zinc secondary battery.

18. The secondary battery according to claim 1 , wherein:
the positive electrode is an air electrode;
the negative electrode is immersed in the electrolytic solution;
the container has a container opening and accommodates the negative electrode and the electrolytic solution; and
the separator structure is disposed to cover the container opening to be in contact with the electrolytic solution and to define a negative-electrode hermetic space with the container, such that the air electrode is separated from the electrolytic solution by the ceramic separator or the separator structure through which hydroxide ions pass, whereby the battery serves as a zinc-air secondary battery.

Assignees

• Ngk Insulators Ltd

Inventors

• Hayashi Hiroshi
• Kitoh Kenshin
• Yamada Naohito

Classifications

• H01M10/30 Primary

  Nickel accumulators (H01M10/34 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M10/28 Primary

  Construction or manufacture · CPC title

• H01M4/32

  Nickel oxide or hydroxide electrodes · CPC title

• H01M12/08

  composed of a half-cell of a fuel-cell type and a half-cell of the secondary-cell type · CPC title

• H01M2300/0014

  Alkaline electrolytes · CPC title