Surface treatment of a sulfide glass solid electrolyte layer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12374717-B2
Application number	US-202418671779-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 22, 2024
Priority date	Aug 4, 2020
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

Chemically treating ionically conductive sulfide glass solid electrolyte separators or separator layers can improve performance. In particular, treatment involving chemically etching a surface or surface region of the sulfide glass separator to blunt, lessen or remove edge defects or surface flaws, and/or to enhance surface smoothness is cost effective, reliable and well suited for high production environments compared to physical methods of removing scratches or smoothing surfaces, such as mechanical grinding and polishing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for treating a surface of an ion conductive sulfide glass solid electrolyte, the method comprising exposing a surface or surface region of the sulfide glass solid electrolyte to an etching media, wherein water molecules are the etching media active etching species.

2. A method for treating a surface of an ion conductive sulfide glass solid electrolyte, the method comprising exposing a surface or surface region of the sulfide glass solid electrolyte to an etching media,
wherein the etching media is a gaseous/vapor phase;
wherein the etching media further comprises a nitrogen carrier gas that is inert in contact with the sulfide glass solid electrolyte.

3. A method for treating a surface of an ion conductive sulfide glass solid electrolyte, the method comprising exposing a surface or surface region of the sulfide glass solid electrolyte to an etching media,
wherein the etching media is a gaseous/vapor phase; and
wherein the gaseous/vapor phase comprises water vapor as an active etchant.

4. A method for treating a surface of an ion conductive sulfide glass solid electrolyte, the method comprising exposing a surface or surface region of the sulfide glass solid electrolyte to an etching media,
wherein the etching media is a gaseous/vapor phase; and
wherein the gaseous/vapor phase comprises acid vapor as an active etchant.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein pressure regulation of the vapor is achieved in part by controlling the temperature and/or the ratio between the acid in the vapor phase and the carrier gas.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the acid vapor comprises carbonic acid vapor.

Assignees

• Polyplus Battery Co Inc

Inventors

• Visco Steven J
• Nimon Vitaliy
• Petrov Alexei
• Nimon Yevgeniy S
• Katz Bruce D

Classifications

• C03C3/321

  Chalcogenide glasses, e.g. containing S, Se, Te · CPC title

• H01M2300/0068

  inorganic · CPC title

• C03C15/02 Primary

  for making a smooth surface · CPC title

• C03C2204/00

  Glasses, glazes or enamels with special properties · CPC title

• C03C4/14

  for electro-conductive glass · CPC title