Fluorides in nanoporous, electrically-conductive scaffolding matrix for metal and metal-ion batteries

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10784504-B2
Application number	US-201916292241-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2019
Priority date	Nov 29, 2013
Publication date	Sep 22, 2020
Grant date	Sep 22, 2020

Abstract

A battery electrode composition is provided that comprises composite particles. Each composite particle may comprise, for example, active fluoride material and a nanoporous, electrically-conductive scaffolding matrix within which the active fluoride material is disposed. The active fluoride material is provided to store and release ions during battery operation. The storing and releasing of the ions may cause a substantial change in volume of the active material. The scaffolding matrix structurally supports the active material, electrically interconnects the active material, and accommodates the changes in volume of the active material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A Li or Li-ion battery electrode composition comprising:
a composite particle, including:
a mixture of metal and lithium fluoride (LiF) materials capable of storing and releasing Li ions during battery operation; and
a scaffolding matrix material into which the mixture is embedded to form an active material core,
wherein the mixture is embedded into the scaffolding matrix material separately from the battery electrode composition being cycled in a Li or Li-ion battery.

2. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , further comprising:
a Li-ion permeable shell at least partially encasing the active material core and protecting the metal and LiF materials from interaction with a battery electrolyte.

3. The battery electrode composition of claim 2 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell is substantially impermeable to electrolyte solvent molecules and configured to block contact between the mixture arranged inside of the Li-ion permeable shell and the electrolyte solvent molecules arranged outside of the Li-ion permeable shell.

4. The battery electrode composition of claim 2 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell has an average shell thickness in the range of about 2 nm to about 200 nm.

5. The battery electrode composition of claim 2 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell is a composite material that has at least two components.

6. The battery electrode composition of claim 2 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell comprises carbon.

7. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , wherein the mixture is embedded in the scaffolding matrix material prior to the battery electrode composition being cycled in the Li or Li-ion battery.

8. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , wherein the mixture is embedded in the scaffolding matrix material after the scaffolding matrix material is made part of a casted electrode.

9. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , wherein the composite particle is of a substantially-spherical shape.

10. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , wherein the scaffolding matrix material is in the form of a monolithic particle.

11. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , wherein the scaffolding matrix material comprises carbon.

12. The battery electrode composition of claim 1 , wherein the metal of the mixture comprises Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Bi, Sn, Sb, Cd or Zn.

13. A Li or Li-ion battery, comprising:
anode and cathode electrodes, wherein the cathode electrode comprises the battery electrode composition of claim 1 ;
an electrolyte ionically coupling the anode and cathode electrodes; and
a separator electrically separating the anode and cathode electrodes.

14. A method of synthesizing a Li or Li-ion battery electrode composition, comprising:
forming a composite particle of the battery electrode composition by embedding, into a scaffolding matrix material and separately from the battery electrode composition being cycled in a Li or Li-ion battery, a mixture of metal and lithium fluoride (LiF) materials capable of storing and releasing Li ions during battery operation to form an active material core.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
at least partially encasing the scaffolding matrix material with a Li-ion permeable shell to protect the metal and LiF materials from interaction with a battery electrolyte.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell is substantially impermeable to electrolyte solvent molecules and configured to block contact between the mixture arranged inside of the Li-ion permeable shell and the electrolyte solvent molecules arranged outside of the Li-ion permeable shell.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell has a shell thickness in the range of about 2 nm to about 200 nm.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell is a composite material that has at least two components.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the Li-ion permeable shell comprises carbon.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
casting the battery electrode composition onto an electrode of the Li or Li-ion battery,
wherein the embedding is performed after the casting,
and wherein the at least partial encasing of the scaffolding matrix material with the Li-ion permeable shell is performed before the casting.

21. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
casting the battery electrode composition onto an electrode of the Li or Li-ion battery,
wherein the embedding is performed after the casting.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein the embedding is performed prior to the battery electrode composition being cycled in the Li or Li-ion battery.

23. The method of claim 14 , wherein the composite particle is of a substantially-spherical shape.

24. The method of claim 14 , wherein the scaffolding matrix material is in the form of a monolithic particle.

25. The method of claim 14 , wherein the scaffolding matrix material comprises carbon.

26. The method of claim 14 , wherein the metal of the mixture comprises Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Bi, Sn, Sb, Cd or Zn.

Assignees

• Sila Nanotechnologies Inc

Inventors

• Yushin Gleb
• Zdyrko Bogdan
• Jacobs Alexander
• Berdichevsky Eugene

Classifications

• H01M4/366

  as layered products · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title

• H01M4/0428

  Chemical vapour deposition · CPC title

• H01M4/0404

  by coating on electrode collectors · CPC title

• H01M4/582

  Halogenides · CPC title