Methods of pre-lithiating electroactive material and electrodes including pre-lithiated electroactive material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10892481-B2
Application number	US-201916275040-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 13, 2019
Priority date	Feb 13, 2019
Publication date	Jan 12, 2021
Grant date	Jan 12, 2021

Abstract

Methods for pre-lithiating an electroactive material including a Group III element, Group IV element, a Group V element, or a combination thereof for an electrode for an electrochemical cell are provided as well as electrodes including the pre-lithiated electroactive material. The methods include reacting a lithiating agent including LiH or Li 3 N with the electroactive material to form a pre-lithiated electroactive material.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of pre-lithiating an electroactive material for an electrode for an electrochemical cell, the method comprising:
reacting a first lithiating agent comprising LiH with the electroactive material comprising silicon to form a pre-lithiated electroactive material comprising a lithium silicide.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein reacting the first lithiating agent with the electroactive material comprises one or more of:
(i) heating the first lithiating agent and the electroactive material in the presence of a first inert gas; and
(ii) mechanically alloying the first lithiating agent and the electroactive material in the presence of a second inert gas.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first lithiating agent and the electroactive material are heated to a temperature of greater than or equal to about 350° C.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lithium silicide is selected from the group consisting of Li 7 Si 3 , Li 13 Si 4 , L 21 Si 5 , Li 12 Si 7 , Li 4.7 Si 2 , and a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising admixing an electrically conductive material with the pre-lithiated electroactive material, wherein the electrically conductive material is selected from the group consisting of carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibers, nitrogen-doped carbon, and combinations thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
admixing a solvent with a polymeric binder and the pre-lithiated electroactive material to form a mixture, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of: N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide, propylene carbonate, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, and combinations thereof; and
applying the mixture to a current collector and volatilizing the mixture to form the electrode.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Balogh Michael P
• Halalay Ion C

Classifications

• H01M4/622

  being polymers · CPC title

• H01M4/134

  Electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys · CPC title

• H01M4/58 Primary

  of inorganic compounds other than oxides or hydroxides, e.g. sulfides, selenides, tellurides, halogenides or LiCoFy; of polyanionic structures, e.g. phosphates, silicates or borates · CPC title

• H01M4/386 Primary

  Silicon or alloys based on silicon · CPC title

• H01M10/0525

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