Process for flexible and shape-conformal rope-shape alkali metal-sulfur batteries

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10637067-B2
Application number	US-201615392224-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2016
Priority date	Dec 28, 2016
Publication date	Apr 28, 2020
Grant date	Apr 28, 2020

Abstract

Provided is a process for producing a rope-shape alkali metal-sulfur battery, comprising (a) providing a first electrode comprising a conductive porous rod and a mixture of a first electrode active material and a first electrolyte residing in pores of the first porous rod; (b) providing a porous separator wrapping around the first electrode to form a separator-protected first electrode; (c) providing a second electrode comprising a conductive porous rod having a mixture of a second electrode active material and a second electrolyte residing in pores of the second porous rod; (d) combining the separator-protected first electrode and the second electrode to form a braid or a yarn; and (d) encasing the braid or yarn with a protective sheath; wherein one of the electrodes is a cathode containing sulfur or a sulfur compound as a cathode active material and the battery has a length-to-diameter aspect ratio no less than 5.

First claim

We claim:

1. A process for producing a rope-shaped alkali metal-sulfur battery wherein said alkali metal is selected from Li, Na, or a combination thereof; said process comprising:
(a) providing 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) wrapping or encasing a porous separator around said first electrode to form a separator-protected first electrode;
(c) providing 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;
(d) combining or interlacing said separator-protected first electrode and said second electrode to form a braid or a yarn having a twist or spiral electrode, wherein said first electrode and second electrode contain an anode and a cathode; and
(e) wrapping or encasing a protective casing or sheath around said braid or yarn to form said rope-shaped battery;
wherein either the first electrode or the second electrode is a cathode containing sulfur or a sulfur compound as a cathode active material and said battery has a rope shape having a length-to-diameter or length-to-thickness aspect ratio no less than 5.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein said sulfur compound is selected from organo-sulfur, polymer-sulfur, carbon-sulfur, metal sulfide, S—Sb, S—Bi, S—Se, S—Te mixture, and combinations thereof.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein said cathode active material contains a material selected from the group consisting of sulfur bonded to pore walls of said first or second porous rod, sulfur bonded to or confined by a carbon or graphite material, sulfur bonded to or confined by a polymer, sulfur-carbon compound, metal sulfide M x S y , wherein x is an integer from 1 to 3 and y is an integer from 1 to 10, and M is a metal element selected from Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, a transition metal, a metal from groups 13 to 17 of the periodic table, and combinations thereof.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein said first electrode is a negative electrode or anode and said second electrode is a positive electrode or cathode.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein said second electrode is a negative electrode or anode and said first electrode is a positive electrode or cathode.

6. A process for producing a rope-shaped alkali metal-sulfur battery wherein said alkali metal is selected from Li, Na, or a combination thereof; said process comprising:
(a) providing a first electrode comprising a first electrically conductive rod and a first mixture of a first electrode active material and a first electrolyte, wherein said first mixture is deposited on or in said first rod;
(b) wrapping or encasing a porous separator around said first electrode to form a separator-protected first electrode;
(c) providing 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;
(d) combining said separator-protected first electrode and said second electrode in an interlacing or twisting manner to form a braid or yarn; and
(e) wrapping or encasing a protective casing or sheath around said braid or yarn;
wherein either the first electrode or the second electrode is a cathode and either the first electrode active material or the second electrode active material is a cathode active material selected from sulfur bonded to pore walls of said porous rod, sulfur bonded to or confined by a carbon or graphite material, sulfur bonded to or confined by a polymer, sulfur-carbon compound, metal sulfide M x S y , wherein x is an integer from 1 to 3 and y is an integer from 1 to 10, and M is a metal element selected from Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, a transition metal, a metal from groups 13 to 17 of the periodic table, or a combination thereof and said battery has a rope shape having a length-to-diameter or length-to-thickness aspect ratio no less than 5.

7. A process for producing a rope-shaped alkali metal-sulfur battery wherein said alkali metal is selected from Li, Na, or a combination thereof; said process comprising:
a) providing a first electrode comprising an electrically conductive porous rod having at least 50% by volume of 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 porous rod;
b) wrapping a porous separator around said first electrode to form a separator-protected first electrode;
c) providing a second electrode comprising an electrically conductive rod having a second mixture of a second electrode active material and a second electrolyte deposited thereon or therein;
d) combining said separator-protected first electrode and said second electrode to form a braid or twist yarn; and
e) wrapping or encasing a protective casing or sheath around said braid or yarn to form said rope-shaped battery;
wherein either the first electrode or the second electrode is a cathode containing a cathode active material selected from sulfur or a sulfur compound selected from organo-sulfur, polymer-sulfur, carbon-sulfur, metal sulfide, S—Sb, S—Bi, S—Se, S—Te mixture, or a combination thereof and said battery has a rope shape having a length-to-diameter or length-to-thickness aspect ratio no less than 5.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein said cathode active material is supported by a functional material or nano-structured material selected from the group consisting of:
i. a nano-structured or porous disordered carbon material selected from particles of a soft carbon, hard carbon, polymeric carbon or carbonized resin, meso-phase carbon, coke, carbonized pitch, carbon black, activated carbon, nano-cellular carbon foam or partially graphitized carbon;
ii. a nano graphene platelet selected from a single-layer graphene sheet or multi-layer graphene platelet;
iii. a carbon nanotube selected from a single-walled carbon nanotube or multi-walled carbon nanotube;
iv. a carbon nano-fiber, nano-wire, metal oxide nano-wire or fiber, conductive polymer nano-fiber, or a combination thereof;
v. a carbonyl-containing organic or polymeric molecule;
vi. a functional material containing a carbonyl, carboxylic, or amine group to reversibly capture sulfur;
and combinations thereof.

9. The process of claim 6 , further comprising a porous separator wrapping around or encasing said second electrode to form a separator-protected second electrode.

10. The process of claim 1 , further comprising a step of disposing a third electrolyte between said braid or yarn and said protective sheath.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein step (a) further includes introducing at least one metallic wire, conductive carbon/graphite fiber, or conductive polymer fiber into said conductive porous rod.

12. The process 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.

13. The process of claim 12 , wherein said porou

Assignees

• Global Graphene Group Inc

Inventors

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

Classifications

• H01M2004/025

  with shapes other than plane or cylindrical · CPC title

• H01M4/668

  Composites of electroconductive material and synthetic resins · CPC title

• H01M4/75

  Wires, rods or strips · CPC title

• H01M4/382

  Lithium (H01M4/405 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M4/381

  Alkaline or alkaline earth metals elements (H01M4/40 takes precedence) · CPC title