Materials with extremely durable intercalation of lithium and manufacturing methods thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10923722-B2
Application number	US-202016984892-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2020
Priority date	Aug 28, 2015
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

Composites of silicon and various porous scaffold materials, such as carbon material comprising micro-, meso- and/or macropores, and methods for manufacturing the same are provided. The compositions find utility in various applications, including electrical energy storage electrodes and devices comprising the same.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for preparing silicon-carbon composite particles, the process comprising:
a. providing a porous carbon framework comprising micropores;
b. heating the porous carbon framework at an elevated temperature in the presence of a silicon-containing gas, thereby impregnating silicon within the micropores of the porous carbon framework to provide a silicon-carbon composite; and
c. performing a particle size reduction of the silicon-carbon composite to provide silicon-carbon composite particles, wherein the silicon-carbon composite particles have a nitrogen-inaccessible volume ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 cm 3 /g.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the silicon impregnated within the micropores of the porous carbon framework is nano sized.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises pyrolyzed carbon material.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises pyrolyzed and activated carbon material.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the particle size reduction is performed by jet milling.

6. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the jet milling is performed in the presence of nitrogen gas.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the elevated temperature is between 300 and 900° C.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises a pore volume greater than 0.5 cm 3 /g.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises a surface area greater than 500 m 2 /g.

10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises a surface area greater than 750 m 2 /g.

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the silicon-carbon composite particles comprise pores, and a majority of the pores have a diameter of 5 nm or lower.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,0 of the silicon-carbon composite particles ranges from 1 nm to 5 microns.

13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,0 of the silicon-carbon composite particles is greater than 5 um.

14. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,100 of the silicon-carbon composite particles ranges from 8 nm to 100 microns.

15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,100 of the silicon-carbon composite particles is greater than 100 microns.

16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a silicon content of the silicon-carbon composite particles ranges from 5% to 95% by weight.

17. The process according to claim 1 , wherein an oxygen content of the silicon-carbon composite particles is less than 10% by weight.

18. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework is heated in a fluidized bed reactor.

19. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework further comprises mesopores.

Assignees

• Group14 Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Sakshaug Avery J
• Costantino Henry R
• Feaver Aaron M
• Thompkins Leah A
• Geramita Katharine
• Kron Benjamin E
• Fredrick Sarah
• Afkhami Farshid
• Strong Adam

Classifications

• H01M4/364 Primary

  as mixtures · CPC title

• H01M4/386

  Silicon or alloys based on silicon · CPC title

• H01M4/625

  Carbon or graphite · CPC title

• H01M4/587 Primary

  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