Iron, fluorine, sulfur compounds for battery cell cathodes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9786905-B2
Application number	US-201414207493-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2014
Priority date	Mar 13, 2013
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

Provided herein are energy storage device cathodes with high capacity electrochemically active material including compounds that include iron, fluorine, sulfur, and optionally oxygen. Batteries with active materials including a compound of the formula FeF a S b O c exhibit high capacity, high specific energy, high average discharge voltage, and low hysteresis, even when discharged at high rates. Iron, fluorine, and sulfur-containing compounds may be ionically and electronically conductive.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cathode for a battery, comprising:
(i) particles of FeF a S b O c ; and
(ii) particles of a combination of iron metal, and lithium fluoride, lithium oxide, and/or lithium sulfide,
wherein the atomic ratio of the iron to fluorine, sulfur, and oxygen in (i) and (ii) is 1:a:b:c, and
wherein 1≦a≦9, 0<b≦3, and 0≦c≦2;

wherein the particles have a median characteristic dimension of between about 10 nm and 10000 nm; wherein the particles are approximately spherical.

2. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein 1≦a≦5, 0<b≦2, and 0≦c≦1.5.

3. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the compound of the formula FeF a S b O c has a discharge capacity of at least about 400 mAh/g when discharged from 4.5 volts versus a lithium metal electrode to 1 volt versus the lithium metal electrode, and when discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

4. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the compound of the formula FeF a S b O c has an average discharge voltage of at least about 2 volts when discharged from 4.5 volts versus a lithium metal electrode to 1 volt versus the lithium metal electrode, and when discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

5. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the compound of the formula FeF a S b O c has an average hysteresis of at most about 2 volts when discharged from 4.5 volts versus a lithium metal electrode to 1 volt versus the lithium metal electrode, and when discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

6. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemically active material or combination of electrochemically active materials has a specific capacity of at least about 300 mAh/g above a voltage of at least about 2.5 volts relative to lithium, when charged to a voltage of 3.9 volts relative to lithium and discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

7. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemically active material or combination of electrochemically active materials has a specific capacity of at least about 500 mAh/g above a voltage of at least about 1 volt relative to lithium, when charged to a voltage of 3.9 volts relative to lithium and discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

8. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemically active material or combination of electrochemically active materials has a specific energy of at least about 600 mWh/g above a voltage of at least about 2.9 volts relative to lithium, when charged to a voltage of 3.9 volts relative to lithium and discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

9. The cathode of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemically active material or combination of electrochemically active materials has a specific energy of at least about 1000 mWh/g above a voltage of at least about 1 volt relative to lithium, when charged to a voltage of 3.9 volts relative to lithium and discharged at a rate of at least 100 mA/g and at a temperature of 40-120° C.

10. The cathode of claim 1 , further comprising a current collector in electrical communication with the material or combination of materials.

11. The cathode of claim 10 , wherein the current collector comprises copper, a copper alloy, nickel, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, carbon-coated aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

12. An energy storage device comprising:
an anode;
an electrolyte; and
a cathode of claim 1 .

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein the device has a specific energy of at least about 200 Wh/kg when measured at 60° C. and a current of at least 100 mA/g of active cathode material.

14. The device of claim 12 , wherein the anode, electrolyte, and cathode, together comprise a stack of about 1 μm to 500 μm thickness.

Assignees

• Quantumscape Corp

Inventors

• Holme Timothy P
• Han Joseph
• Hermann Weston Arthur
• Fasching Rainer J
• Stimson Bradley O
• Chao Cheng Chieh

Classifications

• H01M4/523

  for non-aqueous cells (H01M4/525 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M4/1397

  of electrodes based on inorganic compounds other than oxides or hydroxides, e.g. sulfides, selenides, tellurides, halogenides or LiCoFy · CPC title

• H01M4/364 Primary

  as mixtures · CPC title

• H01M4/661

  Metal or alloys, e.g. alloy coatings (H01M4/669 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M4/1391

  of electrodes based on mixed oxides or hydroxides, or on mixtures of oxides or hydroxides, e.g. LiCoOx · CPC title