Composite powder for use in an anode of a lithium ion battery, method for manufacturing a composite powder and lithium ion battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10637052-B2
Application number	US-201615569402-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2016
Priority date	Apr 28, 2015
Publication date	Apr 28, 2020
Grant date	Apr 28, 2020

Abstract

Composite powder for use in an anode of a lithium ion battery, whereby the particles of the composite powder comprise a carbon matrix material and silicon particles embedded in this matrix material, characterized in that the composite powder further comprises silicon carbide.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A composite powder for use in an anode of a lithium ion battery, the composite powder comprising a carbon matrix material, silicon particles embedded in the matrix material, and silicon carbide, wherein the composite powder has a particle size distribution with a d 10 , d 50 and d 90 value, wherein (d 90 −d 10 )/d 50 is 3 or lower and wherein an ordered domain size of the silicon carbide, as determined by the Scherrer equation applied to the X-ray diffraction SiC peak having a maximum at 2θ between 35.4° and 35.8°, when measured with a copper anticathode producing Kα1 and Kα2 X-rays with a wavelength equal to 0.15418 nm, is at most 15 nm.

2. The composite powder according to claim 1 , wherein the ordered domain size of the silicon carbide is at most 9 nm.

3. The composite powder according to claim 1 , wherein said silicon carbide is present on surfaces of said silicon particles.

4. The composite powder according to claim 1 , wherein said silicon particles have an average particle size of 500 nm or less.

5. The composite powder according to claim 1 , wherein the composite powder has an oxygen content that is 3 wt % or less.

6. The composite powder according to claim 1 , wherein less than 25% by weight of all silicon present in the composite powder is present in the form of silicon carbide.

7. The composite powder according to claim 1 , wherein the powder has a particle size distribution with a d 50 value between 10 μm and 20 μm.

8. A lithium ion battery having an anode comprising the composite powder according to claim 1 .

9. A method of manufacturing a composite powder, the method comprising:
A: providing a first product comprising one or more of products I, II and III;
B: providing a second product comprising carbon or a precursor for carbon, wherein said precursor can be thermally decomposed to carbon at a temperature less than a first temperature;
C: mixing said first and second products to obtain a mixture; and
D: thermally treating said mixture at a temperature less than said first temperature to obtain the composite powder,
wherein product I comprises silicon particles having on at least part of their surfaces silicon carbide;
wherein product II comprises silicon particles having on their surfaces a precursor compound for silicon carbide, the precursor comprising C atoms and being capable of reacting with silicon at a temperature less than said first temperature to form silicon carbide; and
wherein product III comprises silicon particles having on their surfaces a precursor compound for silicon carbide, the precursor comprising Si atoms and C atoms and being capable of being transformed into silicon carbide at a temperature less than said first temperature; and
wherein said first temperature is 1075° C.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said silicon particles have an average particle size of 500 nm or less.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said second product is pitch.

12. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the composite powder being manufactured is a composite powder for use in an anode of a lithium ion battery, the composite powder comprising a carbon matrix material, silicon particles embedded in the matrix material, and silicon carbide, wherein the composite powder has a particle size distribution with a d 10 , d 50 and d 90 value, wherein (d 90 −d 10 )/d 50 is 3 or lower and wherein an ordered domain size of the silicon carbide, as determined by the Scherrer equation applied to the X-ray diffraction SiC peak having a maximum at 2θ between 35.4° and 35.8°, when measured with a copper anticathode producing Kα1 and Kα2 X-rays with a wavelength equal to 0.15418 nm, is at most 15 nm.

13. A lithium ion battery having an anode comprising a composite powder formed using the method according to claim 9 .

14. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said first temperature is 1020° C.

Assignees

• Umicore Nv

Inventors

• Put Stijn
• Van Genechten Dirk
• Marx Nicolas

Classifications

• H01M10/0525

  Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries · CPC title

• H01M4/583

  Carbonaceous material, e.g. graphite-intercalation compounds or CFx · CPC title

• H01M4/587

  for inserting or intercalating light metals · CPC title

• H01M4/0471

  involving thermal treatment, e.g. firing, sintering, backing particulate active material, thermal decomposition, pyrolysis · CPC title

• H01M4/386 Primary

  Silicon or alloys based on silicon · CPC title