Flexible and shape-conformal rope-shape alkali metal batteries

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10535880-B2
Application number	US-201615392120-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2016
Priority date	Dec 28, 2016
Publication date	Jan 14, 2020
Grant date	Jan 14, 2020

Abstract

Provided is a rope-shaped alkali metal battery comprising: (a) a first electrode comprising a first conductive porous rod having pores and a first mixture of a first electrode active material and a first electrolyte residing in the pores of the first porous rod; (b) a porous separator wrapping around or encasing the first electrode to form a separator-protected first electrode; (c) a second electrode comprising a second conductive porous rod having pores and a second mixture of a second electrode active material and a second electrolyte residing in the pores of the second porous rod; wherein the separator-protected first electrode and second electrode are combined to form a braid or a yarn having a twist or spiral electrode; and (d) a protective casing or sheath wrapping around or encasing the braid or yarn.

First claim

We claim:

1. A rope-shaped alkali metal battery wherein said alkali metal is selected from Li, Na, K, or a combination thereof; said battery comprising:
(a) a first electrode comprising a first electrically conductive porous rod having pores and a first mixture of a first electrode active material and a first electrolyte, wherein said first mixture resides in said pores of said first porous rod;
(b) a porous separator wrapping around or encasing said first electrode to form a separator-protected first electrode;
(c) a second electrode comprising a second electrically conductive porous rod having pores and a second mixture of a second electrode active material and a second electrolyte, wherein said second mixture resides in said pores of said second porous rod; wherein said separator-protected first electrode and said second electrode are combined or interlaced together to form a braid or a yarn having a twist or spiral electrode and said first electrode and second electrode contains an anode and a cathode; and
(d) a protective casing or sheath wrapping around or encasing said braid or yarn.

2. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said first electrode is a negative electrode or anode and said second electrode is a positive electrode or cathode.

3. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of said first electrodes and/or a plurality of said second electrodes, wherein at least one of said electrodes is an anode and at least one is a cathode.

4. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , further comprising a porous separator wrapping around or encasing said second electrode to form a separator-protected second electrode.

5. The alkali metal battery of claim 4 , further comprising a third electrolyte disposed between said braid or yarn and said protective sheath.

6. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said rope-shaped battery has a first end and a second end and said first electrode contains a first terminal connector comprising at least one metallic wire, conductive carbon/graphite fiber, or conductive polymer fiber that is embedded in, connected to, or integral with said first electrode.

7. The alkali metal battery of claim 6 , wherein said at least one metallic wire, conductive carbon/graphite fiber, or conductive polymer fiber runs approximately from said first end to said second end.

8. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said first or second electrically conductive porous rod contains a porous foam selected from the group consisting of metal foam, metal web, metal fiber mat, metal nanowire mat, conductive polymer fiber mat, conductive polymer foam, conductive polymer-coated fiber foam, carbon foam, graphite foam, carbon aerogel, carbon xerogel, graphene aerogel, graphene foam, graphene oxide foam, reduced graphene oxide foam, carbon fiber foam, graphite fiber foam, exfoliated graphite foam, and combinations thereof.

9. The alkali metal battery of claim 8 , wherein said porous foam has a cross-section that is circular, elliptic, rectangular, square, hexagon, hollow, or irregular in shape.

10. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said battery has rope shape having a length and a diameter or thickness and an aspect ratio, length/thickness or length/diameter ratio, greater than 10.

11. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said first electrode or second electrode contains particles, foil, or coating of Li, Na, K, or a combination thereof as an electrode active material.

12. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said alkali metal battery is a lithium-ion battery and said first or second electrode active material is selected from the group consisting of:
(a) particles of natural graphite, artificial graphite, meso-carbon microbeads (MCMB), and carbon;
(b) silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), titanium (Ti), iron (Fe), and cadmium (Cd);
(c) alloys or intermetallic compounds of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Al, or Cd with other elements, wherein said alloys or compounds are stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric;
(d) oxides, carbides, nitrides, sulfides, phosphides, selenides, and tellurides of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Al, Fe, Ni, Co, Ti, Mn, or Cd, and their mixtures or composites;
(e) pre-lithiated versions thereof;
(f) pre-lithiated graphene sheets;
and combinations thereof.

13. The alkali metal battery of claim 12 , wherein said pre-lithiated graphene sheets are selected from the group consisting of pre-lithiated versions of pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated graphene, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, a physically or chemically activated or etched version thereof, and combinations thereof.

14. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said alkali metal battery is a sodium-ion battery and said first or second electrode active material contains an alkali intercalation compound selected from the group consisting of petroleum coke, carbon black, amorphous carbon, activated carbon, hard carbon, soft carbon, templated carbon, hollow carbon nanowires, hollow carbon sphere, titanates, NaTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 , Na 2 Ti 3 O 7 , Na 2 C 8 H 4 O 4 , Na 2 TP, Na x TiO 2 (x=0.2 to 1.0), Na 2 C 8 H 4 O 4 , carboxylate based materials, C 8 H 4 Na 2 O 4 , C 8 H 6 O 4 , C 8 H 5 NaO 4 , C 8 Na 2 F 4 O 4 ,C 10 H 2 Na 4 O 8 , C 14 H 4 O 6 , C 14 H 4 Na 4 O 8 , and combinations thereof.

15. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said alkali metal battery is a sodium-ion battery and said first or second electrode active material contains an alkali intercalation compound selected the group consisting of:
(a) sodium- or potassium-doped silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), and mixtures thereof;
(b) sodium- or potassium-containing alloys or intermetallic compounds of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Al, Ti, Co, Ni, Mn, Cd, and their mixtures;
(c) sodium- or potassium-containing oxides, carbides, nitrides, sulfides, phosphides, selenides, tellurides, or antimonides of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Al, Fe, Ti, Co, Ni, Mn, Cd, and mixtures or composites thereof;
(d) sodium or potassium salts;
(e) graphene sheets pre-loaded with sodium or potassium; and
(f) combinations thereof.

16. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said second or first electrode active material contains a lithium intercalation compound or lithium absorbing compound selected from the group consisting of lithium cobalt oxide, doped lithium cobalt oxide, lithium nickel oxide, doped lithium nickel oxide, lithium manganese oxide, doped lithium manganese oxide, lithium vanadium oxide, doped lithium vanadium oxide, lithium mixed-metal oxides, lithium iron phosphate, lithium vanadium phosphate, lithium manganese phosphate, lithium mixed-metal phosphates, non-lithium metal sulfides, lithium selenide, and combinations thereof.

17. The alkali metal battery of claim 1 , wherein said second or first electrode active material contains a sodium intercalation compound or a potassium intercalation compound selected from the group consisting of NaFePO 4 , Na (1-x) K x PO 4 , KFePO 4 , Na 0.7 FePO 4 , Na 1.5 VOPO 4 F 0.5 , Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 , Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 , Na 2 FePO 4 F, NaFeF 3 , NaVPO 4 F, KVPO 4 F, Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 , Na 1.5 VOPO 4

Assignees

• Nanotek Instruments Inc
• Global Graphene Group Inc

Inventors

• Zhamu Aruna
• He Hui
• Pan Baofei
• Su Yu-Sheng
• Jang Bor Z

Classifications

• H01M4/364

  as mixtures · CPC title

• H01M10/054

  Accumulators with insertion or intercalation of metals other than lithium, e.g. with magnesium or aluminium · CPC title

• H01M10/052

  Li-accumulators · CPC title

• H01M6/02

  Details (of electrodes H01M4/00; of non-active parts H01M50/00) · CPC title

• H01M2004/025

  with shapes other than plane or cylindrical · CPC title