High-capacity battery electrodes with improved binders, construction, and performance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018151884-A1
Application number	US-201715825097-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 28, 2017
Priority date	Nov 28, 2016
Publication date	May 31, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

An anode material composition is provided for a metal-ion battery that comprises an active material coating, a current conductive current collector, and a conductive interlayer coupling the active material coating to the current collector. The active material coating may have a capacity loading of at least 2 mAh/cm 2 and comprise active material particles that exhibit volume expansion in the range of about 8 vol. % to about 160 vol. % during a first charge-discharge cycle and volume expansion in the range of about 4 vol. % to about 50 vol. % during one or more subsequent charge-discharge cycles.

First claim

1 . An anode material composition for a metal-ion battery, comprising
an active material coating having a capacity loading of at least 2 mAh/cm 2 and comprising active material particles that exhibit volume expansion in the range of about 8 vol. % to about 160 vol. % during a first charge-discharge cycle and volume expansion in the range of about 4 vol. % to about 50 vol. % during one or more subsequent charge-discharge cycles; a conductive current collector; and a conductive interlayer coupling the active material coating to the current collector.

2 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material coating capacity is greater than about 600 mAh/g.

3 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material coating comprises a silicon-based active material, and wherein the metal-ion battery is a Li-ion battery.

4 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material coating comprises carbon nanotubes as conductive additives.

5 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material coating comprises less than 2 wt. % of conductive additives.

6 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the current collector is a copper alloy comprising less than 99 wt. % copper.

7 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the current collector comprises nickel in an amount from about 0.5 wt. % to about 100 wt. %.

8 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the current collector comprises stainless steel.

9 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the current collector is a composite material comprising a plurality of layers.

10 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the current collector is a porous material comprising pores.

11 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the current collector comprises one or more mechanical reinforcement additives comprising nanowires, nanotubes, nanoflakes, or nanofibers.

12 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the interlayer comprises carbon.

13 . The anode material composition of claim 12 , wherein the interlayer comprises carbon nanotubes.

14 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the interlayer comprises one or more polymers.

15 . The anode material composition of claim 14 , wherein the one or more polymers comprise polyvinyl alcohol or an electrically-conductive polymer.

16 . The anode material composition of claim 14 , wherein the one or more polymers comprise a co-polymer or a mixture of two or more polymers.

17 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material coating comprises a first binder and the interlayer comprises a second binder having the same composition as the first binder.

18 . The anode material composition of claim 18 , wherein the first binder and the second binder comprise the same polymer.

19 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material coating and the interlayer each comprise at least one water-soluble polymer binder that has a degree of hydrolysis greater than about 94%.

20 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material particles are substantially spherical in shape and have a particle size distribution with a coefficient of variance that is less than about 0.2.

21 . The anode material composition of claim 20 , wherein the coefficient of variance is less than about 0.1.

22 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material particles are substantially spherical in shape and arranged to form a colloidal crystal structure having a grain size that is greater than about 50% of the active material coating thickness.

23 . The anode material composition of claim 1 , wherein the active material particles are substantially spherical in shape and have an average spacing between their outer surfaces in the active material coating that is greater than (i) about 10% of their diameter prior to the first charge-discharge cycle or (ii) about 30% of their changes in diameter during the first charge-discharge cycle.

Assignees

• Sila Nanotechnologies Inc

Inventors

• Yushin Gleb
• Kajdos Adam
• Gerber Laura
• Steiger Jens
• Yen Justin
• Doane Justin
• Jacobs Alexander
• Hantsoo Eerik
• Berdichevsky Eugene

Classifications

• H01M10/0525

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

• H01M10/0587

  of accumulators having only wound construction elements, i.e. wound positive electrodes, wound negative electrodes and wound separators · CPC title

• H01M4/134 Primary

  Electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys · CPC title

• H01M4/386

  Silicon or alloys based on silicon · CPC title

• H01M2004/027

  Negative electrodes · CPC title