Method of fabricating thin film electrodes including metal tubes filled with active material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9281537-B2
Application number	US-201313947613-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2013
Priority date	May 18, 2009
Publication date	Mar 8, 2016
Grant date	Mar 8, 2016

Abstract

A thin film electrode is fabricated from a non-metallic, non-conductive porous support structure having pores with micrometer-range diameters. The support may include a polymer film. A first surface of the support is metalized, and the pores are partially metallized to create metal tubes having a thickness within a range of 50 to 150 nanometers, in contact with the metal layer. An active material is disposed within metalized portions of the pores. An electrolyte is disposed within non-metalized portions of the pores. Active materials may be selected to create an anode and a cathode. Non-metalized surfaces of the anode and cathode may be contacted to one another to form a battery cell, with the non-metalized electrolyte-containing portions of the anode facing the electrolyte-containing portions of the cathode pores. A battery cell may be fabricated as, for example, a nickel-zinc battery cell.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating a battery cell, comprising:
forming first and second electrodes including, for each electrode,
contacting a metal layer to a first surface of a non-metallic and non-electrically conductive support structure, wherein the support structure includes a second surface opposite the first surface and a cavity defined by a cavity wall that extends between openings through the first and second surfaces, wherein a thickness of the support structure and a corresponding height of the cavity wall is within a range of approximately 1 to 20 micrometers,
metalizing a portion of the cavity to provide a metal tube within the cavity and in contact with the metal layer, wherein the metal tube includes a metal wall in contact with the cavity wall and having a height less than the cavity wall height,
depositing an electrochemically active material within the metal tube, and
depositing an electrolyte within a non-metalized portion of the cavity; and

coupling the first and second electrodes together with the corresponding support structure second surfaces facing one another and with the corresponding second surface cavity openings at least partially aligned with one another.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the support structure includes a non-conductive polymer.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavity has a diameter within a range of approximately 4 to 5 micrometers, and wherein the metalizing of the portion of the cavity wall includes:
metalizing the cavity to a metal tube wall thickness within a range of approximately 50 to 150 nanometers and to the tube wall height within a range of approximately 50% to 80% of the cavity wall height.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metalizing of the portion of the cavity, the depositing of the electrochemically active material, and depositing of the electrolyte are performed by electrochemical deposition.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming of the first and second electrodes further includes, for each electrode:
depositing the metal layer over a substrate;
spin-coating a polymer over the surface of the metal layer to form the support structure as a polymer film;
masking the polymer film with a cavity-patterned mask;
etching the polymer film in accordance with the mask to form the cavity; and
removing the substrate and the mask.

6. The method of claim 1 , further including, coupling the metal layers of the first and second electrodes to a load and providing a current through the load of at least 0.125 milliamperes/cm2 at approximately 1.25 volts for at least 200 discharge/recharge cycles of the first and second electrodes.

7. The method of claim 1 , further including, coupling the metal layers of the first and second electrodes to a load and providing a current through the load of at least 1.0 milliamperes/cm2 at approximately 1.25 volts for at least 100 discharge/recharge cycles of the first and second electrodes.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the metalizing includes metalizing the first electrode cavity with nickel and metalizing the second electrode cavity with copper; and
the depositing of the electrochemically active material includes depositing one or more of Ni(OH)2 and NiOOH within the first electrode metal tube and depositing one or more of Zn and Zn(OH)2 within the second electrode metal tube.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the cavity of the support structure includes a plurality of cavities and has a cavity density of at least 4 percent, measured as a percentage of an area of the second surface cavity openings relative to an area of the second surface; and
the metalizing, the depositing of the electrochemically active material, and the depositing of the electrolyte are performed with respect to the plurality of cavities.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the cavity density is within a range of approximately 40% to 80%.

Assignees

• Univ Johns Hopkins
• Univ Johns Hopkins

Inventors

• Srinivasan Rengaswamy
• Maranchi Jeffrey P
• Baird Lance M
• Deacon Ryan M
• Francomacaro Arthur S
• Biermann Paul J
• Leese Craig B
• Peck Gary E

Classifications

• H01M4/666

  in the form of mixed materials (H01M4/668 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M10/28

  Construction or manufacture · CPC title

• Y10T29/49115

  including coating or impregnating · CPC title

• H01M4/244

  Zinc electrodes · CPC title

• H01M4/04 Primary

  Processes of manufacture in general · CPC title