Electrochemical cell with protected negative electrode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10511013-B2
Application number	US-201515512480-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2015
Priority date	Sep 23, 2014
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

A method of fabricating a negative electrode for an electrochemical cell may comprise: providing an electrically conductive substrate; depositing a metal layer on the substrate; anodizing the metal layer to form a porous layer on the substrate; depositing a layer of ion conducting material on the porous layer, the layer extending at least partially into pores of the porous layer; densifying the layer of ion conducting material; depositing a layer of alkali metal on the densified layer of ion conducting material; attaching a temporary electrode to the layer of alkali metal and passing a current between the temporary electrode and the substrate to drive alkali metal through the densified layer of ion conducting material to the surface of the substrate, forming an alkali metal reservoir at the surface of the substrate. Furthermore, an electrically conductive mesh may be used in place of the porous layer on the substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating a negative electrode for an electrochemical cell, comprising:
providing a substrate, said substrate being electrically conductive;
depositing a metal layer on said substrate;
anodizing said metal layer to form a porous layer on said substrate;
depositing a layer of ion conducting material on said porous layer, said layer of ion conducting material extending at least partially into pores of said porous layer;
densifying said layer of ion conducting material;
depositing a layer of alkali metal on the densified layer of ion conducting material;
attaching a temporary electrode to said layer of alkali metal and passing a current between said temporary electrode and said substrate to drive alkali metal through the densified layer of ion conducting material to the surface of said substrate, forming an alkali metal reservoir at the surface of said substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said alkali metal is lithium metal.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said metal layer is chosen from the group consisting of aluminum, zirconium and titanium.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said pores are nanometer-scale pores.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said substrate is glass coated in electrically conductive material.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said depositing said metal layer comprises physical vapor deposition of said metal layer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said depositing said layer of ion conducting material comprises physical vapor deposition of said ion conducting material.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said densifying said layer of ion conducting material comprises furnace annealing said layer of ion conducting material.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Herle Subramanya P

Classifications

• H01M4/74

  Meshes or woven material; Expanded metal · CPC title

• H01M4/045

  Electrochemical coating; Electrochemical impregnation · CPC title

• H01M4/0442 Primary

  Anodisation, Oxidation (electrolytic coating by anodisation C25D9/00) · CPC title

• H01M4/0423

  Physical vapour deposition · CPC title

• H01M2004/027

  Negative electrodes · CPC title