Zinc foil, primary battery negative electrode active material using same, and zinc foil production method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11848441-B2
Application number	US-201917279007-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2019
Priority date	Oct 3, 2018
Publication date	Dec 19, 2023
Grant date	Dec 19, 2023

Abstract

A zinc foil is provided that can be used as a negative electrode active material, and in a battery including the zinc foil as a negative electrode active material, the amount of gas generated during long term storage of the battery is reduced as compared with that in a battery including a conventional zinc foil. The zinc foil contains zinc as a main material and bismuth. The bismuth content is 100 ppm or more and 10000 ppm or less on a mass basis. The zinc crystal grain size is 0.2 μm or more and 8 μm or less. The bismuth crystal grain size is less than 1000 nm, as measured in a backscattered electron image obtained using a scanning electron microscope. The zinc foil is free of aluminum and/or lead, or even if the zinc foil contains aluminum and/or lead, the aluminum content is 1% or less on a mass basis and/or the lead content is 200 ppm or less on a mass basis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A zinc foil comprising zinc as a main material and bismuth,
the zinc foil having a bismuth content of 100 ppm or more and 10000 ppm or less on a mass basis, and a zinc crystal grain size of 0.2 μm or more and 8 μm or less,
wherein a bismuth crystal grain size is less than 1000 nm, as measured in a backscattered electron image obtained using a scanning electron microscope.

2. The zinc foil according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in a bismuth mapping image with a virtual grid of squares each having a side length of 300 nm, bismuth is observed in 2% N or more of the squares relative to a total number of the squares, the bismuth mapping image being obtained by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy using a scanning electron microscope.

3. The zinc foil according to claim 1 ,
wherein the zinc foil is free of aluminum and/or lead, or even if the zinc foil contains aluminum and/or lead, an aluminum content is 1% or less on a mass basis and/or a lead content is 200 ppm or less on a mass basis.

4. The zinc foil according to claim 1 ,
wherein the bismuth content is 150 ppm or more and 6000 ppm or less on a mass basis.

5. The zinc foil according to claim 1 ,
wherein the zinc foil further contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of indium, magnesium, calcium, gallium, tin, barium, and strontium, and
a total content of the at least one element is 10 ppm or more and 10000 ppm or less on a mass basis.

6. The negative electrode active material for a primary battery according to claim 1 ,
wherein the zinc foil is free of aluminum and/or lead, or even if the zinc foil contains aluminum and/or lead, an aluminum content is 1% or less on a mass basis and/or a lead content is 200 ppm or less.

7. The zinc foil according to claim 1 ,
wherein the zinc foil has a folding endurance of 10 or more, in terms of the number of double bending operation, as determined in accordance with JIS P8115.

8. A negative electrode active material for a primary battery, comprising a zinc foil,
the zinc foil comprising zinc as a main material and bismuth,
the zinc foil having a bismuth content of 100 ppm or more and 10000 ppm or less on a mass basis, and a zinc crystal grain size of 0.2 μm or more and 8 μm or less,
wherein a bismuth crystal grain size is less than 1000 nm, as measured in a backscattered electron image obtained using a scanning electron microscope.

9. The negative electrode active material for a primary battery according to claim 8 ,
wherein, in a bismuth mapping image with a virtual grid of squares each having a side length of 300 nm, bismuth is observed in 2% N or more of the squares relative to a total number of the squares, the bismuth mapping image being obtained by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy using a scanning electron microscope.

10. A method for producing a zinc foil, the method comprising:
precipitating a zinc foil containing zinc as a main material and bismuth through reduction on a cathode immersed in an electrolyte solution containing a zinc source and a bismuth source,
wherein a current density in the reduction is 1000 A/m 2 or more and 10000 A/m 2 or less;
a dimensionally stable electrode is used as an anode,
the electrolyte solution has a bismuth content of 200 ppm or more and 10000 ppm or less, on a mass basis, relative to a total mass of zinc and bismuth in the electrolyte solution,
a bismuth crystal grain size is less than 1000 nm, as measured in a backscattered electron image obtained using a scanning electron microscope.

Assignees

• Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kamada Tsuneyoshi
• Kumada Naoki
• Sakano Masashi
• Inoue Hidetoshi
• Nagaoka Hideyuki
• Ochi Yasuhiro

Classifications

• H01M4/42 Primary

  Alloys based on zinc · CPC title

• C22C18/00

  Alloys based on zinc · CPC title

• C25D3/565

  containing more than 50% by weight of zinc · CPC title

• C22F1/165 Primary

  of zinc or cadmium or alloys based thereon · CPC title

• C25D1/04

  Wires; Strips; Foils · CPC title