Highly-porous elongate ceramic particles for transition metal gettering in batteries

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2026055002-A1
Application number	US-202519305486-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 20, 2025
Priority date	Aug 21, 2024
Publication date	Feb 26, 2026
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed are elongate ceramic (nano)particles that include γ-alumina. In some implementations: a mass fraction of the γ-alumina in the elongate ceramic (nano)particles is in a range of about 70 to about 100 wt. %, a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area (BET-SSA) of the elongate ceramic (nano)particles is in a range of about 30 to about 400 m 2 /g, an average aspect ratio of the elongate ceramic (nano)particles is at least about 3, and a cumulative pore volume of the elongate ceramic (nano)particles in a pore width range of 7 to 20 nm is in a range of about 1.0×10 −2 to about 1.0 cm 3 /g. A separator, an integrated electrode-separator component, and a lithium-ion battery incorporating the elongate ceramic (nano)particles are also disclosed. Related methods of making a separator, an integrated electrode-separator component, and a lithium-ion battery are also disclosed.

First claim

1 . Elongate ceramic particles, comprising:
γ-alumina, wherein: a mass fraction of the γ-alumina in the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 70 to about 100 wt. %; a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area (BET-SSA) of the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 30 to about 400 m 2 /g; an average aspect ratio of the elongate ceramic particles is at least about 3; and a cumulative pore volume of the elongate ceramic particles in a pore width range of 7 to 20 nm is in a range of about 1.0×10 −2 to about 1.0 cm 3 /g.

2 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
an average width of the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 20 to about 400 nm.

3 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
the mass fraction is in a range of about 80 to about 100 wt. %.

4 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 3 , wherein:
the mass fraction is in a range of about 90 to about 100 wt. %.

5 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
the cumulative pore volume of the elongate ceramic particles in the pore width range of 7 to 20 nm is in a range of about 3.0×10 −2 to about 0.5 cm 3 /g; and/or a cumulative pore volume of micropores in the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 1.0×10 −3 to about 2.0×10 −2 cm 3 /g.

6 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
a cumulative pore volume of mesopores in the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 5.0×10 −2 to about 1.0 cm 3 /g; and/or a cumulative pore volume of macropores in the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 2.0×10 −2 to about 0.5 cm 3 /g.

7 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
an average length of the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 1 to about 50 μm.

8 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
a total pore volume (TPV) of the elongate ceramic particles is in a range of about 2.0×10 −2 to about 2.0 cm 3 /g; and/or the cumulative pore volume of the elongate ceramic particles in the pore width range of 7 to 20 nm, divided by the TPV of the elongate ceramic particles, is in a range of about 15 to about 65%.

9 . The elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein:
the elongate ceramic particles comprise one or more amine-comprising functional groups at one or more respective surfaces.

10 . An integrated electrode-separator component, comprising:
an electrode coating disposed on and/or in a current collector and comprising electrode active material; and a separator coating disposed on the electrode coating comprising the elongate ceramic particles of claim 1 , wherein: a thickness of the separator coating is in a range of about 1.0 to about 20.0 μm.

11 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 10 , wherein:
the thickness is in a range of about 1.0 to about 10.0 μm.

12 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 11 , wherein:
the thickness is in a range of about 1.0 to about 5.0 μm.

13 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 12 , wherein:
the thickness is in a range of about 1.0 to about 3.0 μm.

14 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 10 , wherein:
the separator coating comprises one or more amine-comprising functional groups.

15 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 10 , wherein:
the electrode coating comprises a cathode active material comprising at least one transition metal selected from the group consisting of Ni, Mn, Co, and Fe.

16 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 15 , wherein:
the cathode active material comprises one or more of the following: LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 , a sum of x, y, and z being about 1 and at least one of x, y, and z being greater than 0; Li 1+p Mn 2-p O 4 , p being greater than or equal to 0 and p being less than 2; LiNi q Mn 2-q O 4 , q being greater than or equal to 0 and q being less than 2; and LiFe 1-r Mn r PO 4 , r being greater than or equal to 0 and r being less than or equal to 1.

17 . A lithium-ion battery, comprising:
the integrated electrode-separator component of claim 15 , the electrode coating thereof being configured as a cathode of the lithium-ion battery; an anode in contact with and facing toward the separator coating of the integrated electrode-separator component, the anode comprising an anode active material; and an electrolyte ionically coupling the cathode and the anode.

18 . The lithium-ion battery of claim 17 , wherein:
the anode active material comprises composite particles, each of the composite particles comprising carbon and silicon.

19 . The lithium-ion battery of claim 17 , wherein:
the anode active material comprises a mixture of graphite particles and composite particles that are separate from the graphite particles, each of the composite particles comprising carbon and silicon.

20 . The lithium-ion battery of claim 17 , wherein:
the lithium-ion battery, after at least 300 full charge-discharge cycles, or after storage, in a fully charged state at a temperature of about 60° C., for at least 30 days, exhibits a gradient in a concentration of the at least one transition metal from the cathode across the separator coating to the anode, the concentration being highest in the cathode; and/or the separator coating exhibits an atomic ratio of Al to the at least one transition metal in a range of about 1:1 to about 4:1 after the lithium-ion battery has undergone at least 300 full charge-discharge cycles, or storage, in a fully charged state at a temperature of about 60° C., for at least 30 days.

21 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 10 , wherein:
the electrode coating comprises an anode active material.

22 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 21 , wherein:
the anode active material comprises composite particles, each of the composite particles comprising carbon and silicon.

23 . The integrated electrode-separator component of claim 21 , wherein:
the anode active material comprises a mixture of graphite particles and composite particles that are separate from the graphite particles, each of the composite particles comprising carbon and silicon.

24 . A lithium-ion battery, comprising:
the integrated electrode-separator component of claim 21 , the electrode coating thereof being configured as an anode of the lithium-ion battery; a cathode in contact with and facing toward the separator coating of the integrated electrode-separator component; and an electrolyte ionically coupling the cathode and the anode, wherein: the cathode comprises a cathode active material comprising at least one transition metal selected from the group consisting of Ni, Mn, Co, and Fe.

25 . The lithium-ion battery of claim 24 , wherein:
the cathode active material comprises one or more of the following: LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 , a sum of x, y, and z being about 1 and at least one of x, y, and z being greater than 0; Li 1+p Mn 2-p O 4 , p being greater than or equal to 0 and p being less than 2; LiNi q Mn 2-q O 4 , q being greater than or equal to 0 and q being less than 2; and LiFe 1-r Mn r PO 4 , r being greater than or equal to 0 and r being less than or equal to 1.

26 . The lithium-ion battery of claim 24 , wherein:
the lithium-ion battery, after at least 300 full charge-discharge cycles, or after storage, i

Assignees

• Sila Nanotechnologies Inc

Inventors

• Eldesoky Ahmed
• Chan Jason
• Lynch David Michael
• Virgili Justin Michael
• Yushin Gleb Nikolayevich

Classifications

• H01M50/403

  Manufacturing processes of separators, membranes or diaphragms · CPC title

• H01M4/525

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

• H01M50/491

  Porosity · CPC title

• H01M4/505

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

• H01M50/434

  Ceramics · CPC title