Positive electrode active material for a rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12002953-B2
Application number	US-202117236058-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2021
Priority date	Oct 24, 2018
Publication date	Jun 4, 2024
Grant date	Jun 4, 2024

Abstract

The present invention relates to positive electrode active materials in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries having a difference in cobalt concentration between the center and the edge of particle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A positive electrode active material suitable for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, said positive electrode active material comprising Li, M′, and oxygen, wherein M′ comprises:
Ni in a content x, wherein 70.0 mol %≤x≤75.0 mol %, relative to M′;
Co in a content y, wherein 0.1 mol %≤y≤40.0 mol %, relative to M′;
Mn in a content z, wherein 0.1 mol %≤z≤70.0 mol %, relative to M′,
D in a content a, wherein 0.0 mol %≤a≤2.0 mol %, relative to M′, wherein D comprises at least one element of the group consisting of: Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mo, Nb, S, Si, Sr, Ti, Y, V, W, Zn, and Zr, and
wherein x, y, z, and a contents are measured by ICP, and x+y+z+a is 100.0 mol %,
wherein said positive electrode active material comprises secondary particles comprising a plurality of primary particles, and
wherein the positive electrode active material has a Ni content Ni edge and Co content Co edge as measured by cross-sectional EDS (CS-EDS) at an edge of the secondary particle of the positive electrode active material, wherein Ni edge and Co edge contents are expressed as molar fractions compared to the sum of Ni, Mn, and Co content as measured by CS-EDS at the edge of the secondary particle of the positive electrode active material,
wherein the positive electrode active material has a Ni content Ni center and Co content Co center measured by CS-EDS at the center of the secondary particle of the positive electrode active material, wherein Ni center and Co center contents are expressed as molar fractions compared to the sum of Ni, Mn, and Co content as measured by CS-EDS at the center of the secondary particle of the positive electrode active material,
wherein the ratio Ni edge /Ni center <1.0
wherein the ratio Co edge /Co center >1.0
wherein said secondary particles have an average crystallite size of at most 65 nm, as determined by XRD.

2. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein Ni edge /Ni center <0.95 and Co edge /Co center >1.05.

3. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the difference between Ni edge and Ni center is at least 5 mol % and the difference between Co edge and Co center is at least 5 mol %, as determined by CS EDS analysis.

4. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein Mn molar fraction at the edge of positive electrode active material compared to the sum of Ni, Mn, and Co content as measured by CS-EDS at the edge of positive electrode active material is higher than 0 mol %.

5. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 wherein the secondary particles have an average crystallite size is at least 15 nm and at most 65 nm, as determined by XRD.

6. A battery comprising the positive electrode active material according claim 1 .

7. Use of a battery according to claim 6 in a portable computer, a tablet, a mobile phone, an electrically powered vehicle, or an energy storage system.

Assignees

• Umicore Nv
• Umicore Korea Ltd

Inventors

• Blangero Maxime
• Zhu Liang
• Lee Yuri
• Driesen Kris

Classifications

• C01G53/82 Primary

  Compounds containing nickel, with or without oxygen or hydrogen, and containing two or more other elements · CPC title

• H01M2004/028

  Positive electrodes · CPC title

• H01M10/0525

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

• H01M4/505

  of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing manganese for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiMn2O4 or LiMn2OxFy · CPC title

• H01M4/525 Primary

  of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing iron, cobalt or nickel for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiNiO2, LiCoO2 or LiCoOxFy · CPC title