Nonaqueous electrolyte battery, battery pack and positive electrode active material

• US 20060134520A1
• Filed: 12/12/2005
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Inagaki, Hiroki, Saruwatari, Hidesato, Matsuno, Shinsuke, Ishii, Haruchika
• Application Number:
  US11/298,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20060134520A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/223
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0569 characterised by the solvents
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0587 of accumulators having only wound construction elements, i.e. wound positive electrodes, wound negative electrodes and wound separators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2004/028 Positive electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2300/004 Three solvents
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/131 Electrodes based on mixed oxides or hydroxides, or on mixtures of oxides or hydroxides, e.g. LiCoOx
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/133 Electrodes based on carbonaceous material, e.g. graphite-intercalation compounds or CFx
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/364 as mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/366 as layered products
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/485 of mixed oxides or hydroxides for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiTi2O4 or LiTi2OxFy H01M4/505, H01M4/525 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/505 of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing manganese for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiMn2O4 or LiMn2OxFy
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/525 of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing iron, cobalt or nickel for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiNiO2, LiCoO2 or LiCoOxFy
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/62 Selection of inactive substances as ingredients for active masses, e.g. binders, fillers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/103 prismatic or rectangular H01M50/109, H01M50/11 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/46 Separators, membranes or diaphragms characterised by their combination with electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/528 Fixed electrical connections, i.e. not intended for disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/581 in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A nonaqueous electrolyte battery includes a case, a positive electrode housed in the case and including a positive electrode active material containing a lithium-nickel composite oxide and at least one of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide, the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide falling within not less than 0.1% to not more than 0.5% by weight based on the total amount of the positive electrode active material, a negative electrode housed in the case and capable of lithium intercalation-deintercalation, and a separator sandwiched between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and impregnated with a nonaqueous electrolyte containing γ-butyrolactone.

Claims

1. A nonaqueous electrolyte battery, comprising:

a case;

a positive electrode housed in the case and including a positive electrode active material containing a lithium-nickel composite oxide and at least one of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide, the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide falling within not less than 0.1% to not more than 0.5% by weight based on the total amount of the positive electrode active material;

a negative electrode housed in the case and capable of lithium intercalation-deintercalation; and

a separator sandwiched between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and impregnated with a nonaqueous electrolyte containing γ

-butyrolactone.

2. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the negative electrode and the positive electrode are arranged spatially apart from each other.

3. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide falls within not less than 0.1% to not more than 0.3% by weight based on the amount of the positive electrode active material.

4. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the amount of γ

-butyrolactone contained in the nonaqueous electrolyte falls within not less than 10% to not more than 90% by volume of the nonaqueous electrolyte.

5. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the positive electrode is covered with a film containing a ring-opened polymer of γ

-butyrolactone.

6. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one of ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate.

7. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one of ethylene carbonate in an amount of not less than 5% to not more than 60% by volume of the nonaqueous electrolyte and propylene carbonate in an amount of not less than 5% to not more than 60% by volume of the nonaqueous electrolyte.

8. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the lithium-nickel composite oxide is represented by formula (1) given below:

LiNi<sub>1−

x</sub>M_xO² 

 

(1)

where the element M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Co, Al, Mn, Cr, Fe, Nb, Mg, B and F, and the molar ratio x satisfies 0≦

x<

1.

9. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the lithium-nickel composite oxide is represented by formula (1) given below:

LiNi<sub>1−

x</sub>M_xO² 

 

(1)

where the element M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Co, Al and Mn, and the molar ratio x satisfies 0≦

x≦

0.5.

10. A battery pack comprising a plurality of nonaqueous electrolyte batteries, wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte battery comprises:

a case;

a positive electrode housed in the case and including a positive electrode active material containing a lithium-nickel composite oxide and at least one of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide, the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide falling within not less than 0.1% to not more than 0.5% by weight based on the total amount of the positive electrode active material;

a negative electrode housed in the case and capable of lithium intercalation-deintercalation; and

a separator sandwiched between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and impregnated with a nonaqueous electrolyte containing γ

-butyrolactone.

11. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the positive electrode and the negative electrode are arranged spatially apart from each other.

12. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide falls within not less than 0.1% to not more than 0.3% by weight based on the amount of the positive electrode active material.

13. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the amount of γ

-butyrolactone contained in the nonaqueous electrolyte falls within not less than 10% to not more than 90% by volume of the nonaqueous electrolyte.

14. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the surface of the positive electrode is covered with a film containing a ring-opened polymer of γ

-butyrolactone.

15. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one of ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate.

16. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one of ethylene carbonate in an amount of not less than 5% to not more than 60% by volume of the nonaqueous electrolyte and propylene carbonate in an amount of not less than 5% to not more than 60% by volume of the nonaqueous electrolyte.

17. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the lithium-nickel composite oxide is represented by formula (1) given below:

LiNi<sub>1−

x</sub>M_xO² 

 

(1)

where the element M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Co, Al, Mn, Cr, Fe, Nb, Mg, B and F, and the molar ratio x satisfies 0≦

x<

1.

18. The battery pack according to claim 10, wherein the lithium-nickel composite oxide is represented by formula (1) given below:

LiNi<sub>1−

x</sub>M_xO² 

 

(1)

where the element M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Co, Al and Mn, and the molar ratio x satisfies 0≦

x≦

0.5.

19. A positive electrode active material, comprising a lithium-nickel composite oxide and at least one of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide, wherein:

the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide falls within not less than 0.1% to not more than 0.5% by weight based on the total amount of the positive electrode active material;

the positive electrode active material has a core region and an outer region; and

the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide in the core region falls within not less than 50% to not more than 200% of the sum of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide in the outer region.

20. The positive electrode active material according to claim 19, wherein the positive electrode active material is formed of a porous particle, in which the boundary between the outer region and the core region from the upper surface of the porous particle is on 0.25 times as much as the diameter (μ

m) of the porous particle, and the boundary is defined as the core region.