Metal/air battery with gas separation nanostructure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9660312-B2
Application number	US-201313921704-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 19, 2013
Priority date	Jun 19, 2012
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A metal/air battery electrochemical cell in one embodiment includes a negative electrode, a positive electrode, an oxygen supply, and a closed oxygen conducting membrane less than about 50 microns thick located between the oxygen supply and the positive electrode.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A metal/air battery comprising:
a negative electrode;
a positive electrode;
an oxygen supply; and
a closed oxygen conducting membrane less than about 50 microns thick located between the oxygen supply and the positive electrode, wherein the closed oxygen conducting membrane is functionally adjacent to the positive electrode.

2. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the closed oxygen conducting membrane is a conformally formed closed oxygen conducting membrane.

3. The battery of claim 2 , wherein the closed oxygen conducting membrane is formed by atomic layer deposition.

4. The battery of claim 3 , wherein the closed oxygen conducting membrane is a nanostructured yttria-stabilized zirconia in a Nernst cell geometry.

5. The battery of claim 2 , wherein:
the positive electrode includes a porous structure; and
the closed oxygen conducting membrane is formed conformally on the porous structure.

6. The battery of claim 4 , wherein the oxygen supply is a vessel configured to hold a gas.

7. The battery of claim 4 , wherein:
the positive electrode includes a porous structure; and
the closed oxygen conducting membrane is spaced apart from the porous structure.

8. The battery of claim 4 , wherein the positive electrode includes a porous structure formed from Pt, Au, Ir, Ta, Ti or a similar inert material.

9. The battery of claim 4 , wherein the positive electrode includes a silicon carbide porous structure formed from a silica Aerogel.

10. The battery of claim 4 , wherein the positive electrode includes a silicon carbide structure formed from nanowires.

11. The battery of claim 10 , wherein the nanowires are supported by a conductive substrate.

12. The battery of claim 4 , wherein the positive electrode includes a silicon carbide structure formed from nanowires.

13. The battery of claim 2 , wherein the closed oxygen conducting membrane comprises:
a stabilized bismuth oxide;
a doped ceria; or
a lanthanum oxide.

14. A method of forming a metal/air battery comprising:
providing a negative electrode;
providing a positive electrode;
providing an oxygen supply;
forming a closed oxygen conducting membrane less than about 50 microns thick; and
positioning the closed oxygen conducting membrane between the oxygen supply and the positive electrode, wherein the closed oxygen conducting membrane is functionally adjacent to the positive electrode.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane comprises conformally forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane comprises forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane by atomic layer deposition.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane further comprises forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane with a nanostructured yttria-stabilized zirconia in a Nernst cell geometry.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein providing the positive electrode comprises:
providing a porous silicon structure; and
forming a porous silicon carbide structure from the porous silicon structure.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane further comprises:
forming the closed oxygen conducting membrane on the porous silicon carbide structure.

20. The battery of claim 5 , further comprising:
a separator positioned between the anode and the cathode, the separator separated from the closed oxygen conducting membrane by the positive electrode.

Assignees

• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Lohmann Timm
• Christensen John F
• Kozinsky Boris
• Albertus Paul
• Sanchez-Carrera Roel

Classifications

• B01D67/0072 Primary

  by deposition from the gaseous phase, e.g. sputtering, CVD, PVD · CPC title

• H01M4/382

  Lithium (H01M4/405 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M12/00

  Hybrid cells; Manufacture thereof (hybrid capacitors H01G11/00) · CPC title

• H01M12/08 Primary

  composed of a half-cell of a fuel-cell type and a half-cell of the secondary-cell type · CPC title

• H01M4/94

  Non-porous diffusion electrodes, e.g. palladium membranes, ion exchange membranes · CPC title