Batteries with nanostructured electrodes and associated methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9865870-B2
Application number	US-201214122559-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2012
Priority date	Jun 6, 2011
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

Abstract

Several embodiments related to batteries having electrodes with nanostructures, compositions of such nanostructures, and associated methods of making such electrodes are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for producing an anode suitable for a lithium-ion battery comprising preparing a surface of a substrate material and forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures on the surface of the substrate material via electrodeposition without using a template.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for producing an anode suitable for a lithium-ion battery, the method comprising:
preparing a surface of a substrate material;
forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures on the surface of the substrate material via electro-deposition without using a template; and
controlling at least one of the operating conditions of the electrodeposition based on a target profile for the plurality of conductive nanostructures formed on the surface of the substrate, the target profile including the conductive nanostructures forming a plurality of freestanding structures, wherein the electro-deposition is preceded by soaking the substrate in an electrolyte, the soaking time being controlled based on a target area coverage density for the plurality of conductive nanostructures formed on the surface of the substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures includes forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures on the surface of the substrate material via electrodeposition without using a template at a temperature greater than about 40° C.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures includes forming a plurality of conductive nanoneedles on the surface of the substrate material via electrodeposition without using a template.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures includes forming a plurality of tin (Sn) nanoneedles on the surface of the substrate material via electrodeposition without using a template.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein forming a plurality of conductive nanostructures includes forming a plurality of tin (Sn) nanoneedles on the surface of the substrate material via electrodeposition without using a template, and wherein the substrate material includes copper with surface copper oxide (Cu2O).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein preparing a surface of a substrate material includes at least one of:
polishing the substrate;
treating the substrate with a basic solution; or
treating the substrate with an acidic solution.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the soaking the substrate in an electrolyte includes soaking the substrate in sodium stannate solution.

Assignees

• Norton M Grant
• Sahaym Uttara
• Miller Sarah
• Univ Washington State

Inventors

• Norton M Grant
• Sahaym Uttara
• Miller Sarah

Classifications

• H01M10/0525

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

• C25D3/30

  of tin · CPC title

• H01M2004/021

  Physical characteristics, e.g. porosity, surface area · CPC title

• H01M4/8605

  Porous electrodes · CPC title

• H01M10/04

  Construction or manufacture in general (H01M10/058, H01M10/12, H01M10/28, H01M10/38 take precedence) · CPC title