Aerogel-based electrodes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11569499-B2
Application number	US-201916697220-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 27, 2019
Priority date	Jan 23, 2019
Publication date	Jan 31, 2023
Grant date	Jan 31, 2023

Abstract

Electrodes, production methods and mono-cell batteries are provided, which comprise active material particles embedded in electrically conductive metallic porous structure, dry-etched anode structures and battery structures with thick anodes and cathodes that have spatially uniform resistance. The metallic porous structure provides electric conductivity, a large volume that supports good ionic conductivity, that in turn reduces directional elongation of the particles during operation, and may enable reduction or removal of binders, conductive additives and/or current collectors to yield electrodes with higher structural stability, lower resistance, possibly higher energy density and longer cycling lifetime. Dry etching treatments may be used to reduce oxidized surfaces of the active material particles, thereby simplifying production methods and enhancing porosity and ionic conductivity of the electrodes. Electrodes may be made thick and used to form mono-cell batteries which are simple to produce and yield high performance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electrode comprising active material particles embedded in an electrically conductive porous structure that comprises (a) an electrically conductive metallic aerogel that comprises an anisotropic assembly of wires or needles, and (b) open-cell foams comprising an anisotropic assembly of cell walls; wherein the electrode is part of a fast-charging lithium ion cell that is configured to be operated at a maximal charging rate of 4C or higher, and the active material particles are configured to incorporate and release lithium ions.

2. The electrode of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is an anode, with active material particles comprising at least one of Si, Ge and Sn, optionally at least partly coated and/or at least partly oxidized.

3. The electrode of claim 2 , wherein the aerogel comprises any of copper, nickel and/or titanium, their combinations and/or their alloys.

4. The electrode of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is a cathode, with active material particles comprising primary cathode material nanoparticles which are single grains or are at groups smaller than 10.

5. The electrode of claim 1 configured to be binder-free.

6. The electrode of claim 1 , further configured to have a form factor having a thickness between 50 μm and 5 mm.

7. The electrode according to claim 1 , wherein the wires or needles have widths of one to tens of nanometers and lengths of tens or hundreds of nanometers to one micrometer; and wherein the cell walls have a thickness of one to tens of nanometers.

8. A battery comprising a fast-charging lithium ion cell with at least one electrode according to claim 2 as the anode thereof.

9. The battery of claim 8 , further comprising at least one cathode comprising cathode active material particles embedded in an electrically conductive metallic porous structure.

10. The battery of claim 9 , wherein the electrically conductive metallic porous structure of the at least one cathode comprises aerogel, the cathode active material particles comprise primary cathode material nanoparticles which are single grains or are at groups smaller than 10, the at least one cathode is configured to be binder-free and has a specified form factor and be between 50 μm and 5 mm thick.

11. The battery of claim 8 , configured as a mono-cell battery comprising only one anode and only one cathode and wherein the anode and the cathode are separated by a separator or by a semi-solid electrolyte.

12. The battery of claim 8 , configured as any of Li-ion, Na-ion and/or Li—S battery or supercapacitor.

13. A battery comprising a fast-charging lithium ion cell with at least one electrode according to claim 4 as the cathode thereof.

14. The battery of claim 13 , further comprising at least one anode with active material particles comprising at least one of Si, Ge and Sn, optionally at least partly coated and/or at least partly oxidized, which are embedded in an electrically conductive metallic aerogel.

15. The battery of claim 14 , wherein the at least one anode is configured to be binder-free and have a specified form factor and be between 50 μm and 5 mm thick.

16. The battery of claim 13 , configured as a mono-cell battery comprising only one anode and only one cathode and wherein the anode and the cathode are separated by a separator or by a semi-solid electrolyte.

17. The battery of claim 16 , configured as a cylindrical cell with the anode and the cathode positioned longitudinally, parallel to an axis of the cell.

18. The battery of claim 16 , configured as a cylindrical cell with the anode and the cathode positioned transversely with respect to an axis of the cell, the cathode contacting a cell cap and the anode contacting a cell bottom.

19. A method of making an electrode comprising:
embedding active material particles in an electrically conductive porous structure that comprises (a) an electrically conductive metallic aerogel that comprises an anisotropic assembly of wires or needles, and (b) open-cell foams comprising an anisotropic assembly of cell walls to yield an electrode of a fast-charging lithium ion cell that is configured to be operated at a maximal charging rate of 4C or higher.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising configuring the electrode as an anode of a fast-charging lithium ion cell, wherein the active material particles are anode active material particles comprising at least one of Si, Ge and Sn, optionally at least partly coated and/or at least partly oxidized.

21. The method of claim 19 , further comprising configuring the electrode as a cathode of a fast-charging lithium ion cell, wherein the active material particles comprise primary cathode material nanoparticles which are single grains or are at groups smaller than 10.

22. The method of claim 19 , further comprising: preparing a raw electrode by the embedding of oxidized active material particles in the electrically conductive metallic aerogel, and applying a dry etching treatment to the raw electrode to at least partly reduce the oxidized active material particles through pores of the electrically conductive metallic aerogel to yield the electrode in an operable state.

23. The method according to claim 19 , wherein the wires or needles have widths of one to tens of nanometers and lengths of tens or hundreds of nanometers to one micrometer; and wherein the cell walls have a thickness of one to tens of nanometers.

Assignees

• Storedot Ltd

Inventors

• Sella Eran
• Goldbart Ohad
• Aronov Daniel

Classifications

• H01M10/0565

  Polymeric materials, e.g. gel-type or solid-type · CPC title

• H01M4/134

  Electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys · CPC title

• H01M10/0525 Primary

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

• H01M4/29

  by electrochemical methods · CPC title

• H01M2004/021

  Physical characteristics, e.g. porosity, surface area · CPC title