Alkali-metal batteries with a dendrite-free anode interfacing an organic liquid electrolyte

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017301922-A1
Application number	US-201715452337-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 7, 2017
Priority date	Mar 18, 2016
Publication date	Oct 19, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A rechargeable battery cell has an organic-liquid electrolyte contacting a dendrite free alkali-metal anode. The alkali-metal anode may be a liquid at the operating temperature that is immobilized by absorption into a porous membrane. The alkali-metal anode may be a solid that wets a porous-membrane separator, where the contact between the solid alkali-metal anode and the liquid electrolyte is at micropores or nanopores in the porous-membrane separator. The use of a dendrite-free solid lithium cell was demonstrated in a symmetric cell with a porous cellulose-based separator membrane. A K + -ion rechargeable cell was demonstrated with a liquid K—Na alloy anode immobilized in a porous carbon membrane using an organic-liquid electrolyte with a Celgard® or glass-fiber separator.

First claim

1 . A battery cell, including a rechargeable electrochemical cell, the rechargeable electrochemical cell comprising:
a liquid-metal anode immobilized in a porous membrane; an electrolyte; and a cathode.

2 . The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte is a liquid electrolyte.

3 . The battery cell of claim 1 , wherein the porous membrane is selected from at least one of:
a carbon-based membrane; a polymer membrane; a porous ceramic membrane; a porous gel membrane; a cellulose-based membrane; and a fiber-matrix membrane.

4 . The battery cell of claim 3 , wherein the fiber-matrix membrane is coated with at least one of:
a carbon-based material; a glass material; a polymer; a cellulose-based material.

5 . A battery cell, including a rechargeable electrochemical cell, the rechargeable electrochemical cell comprising:
a separator membrane; an organic-liquid electrolyte in the separator membrane; a dendrite-free anode; and a cathode,
wherein the organic-liquid electrolyte contacts the dendrite-free anode via the separator membrane, and
wherein the separator membrane transports an alkali-metal ion between the dendrite-free anode and the organic-liquid electrolyte.

6 . The battery cell of claim 5 , wherein the dendrite-free anode comprises a current collector with a solid alkali metal, and wherein the separator membrane is a cellulose-based membrane.

7 . The battery cell of claim 5 , wherein the dendrite-free anode comprises a current collector with a liquid alkali metal, and wherein the separator membrane is a carbon-based membrane.

8 . The battery cell of claim 5 , wherein the alkali-metal ion is selected from at least one of: sodium ions, lithium ions, and potassium ions.

9 . A rechargeable battery cell, comprising:
an immobilized liquid potassium-sodium alloy anode; an electrolyte; and a cathode,
wherein the rechargeable battery cell transports potassium ions.

10 . The rechargeable battery cell of claim 9 , wherein the electrolyte is a liquid electrolyte.

11 . The rechargeable battery cell of claim 9 , further comprising:
a carbon-based membrane immobilizing the liquid potassium-sodium anode.

Assignees

• Univ Texas

Inventors

• Goodenough John B
• Xue Leigang
• You Byoungchul

Classifications

• C22C24/00 Primary

  Alloys based on an alkali or an alkaline earth metal · CPC title

• H01M4/76 Primary

  Containers for holding the active material, e.g. tubes, capsules · CPC title

• H01M4/381

  Alkaline or alkaline earth metals elements (H01M4/40 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M10/0568

  characterised by the solutes · CPC title

• H01M2300/0037

  Mixture of solvents · CPC title