Lithium battery

• US 6,528,212 B1
• Filed: 09/11/2000
• Issued: 03/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujimoto, Masahisa, Kusumoto, Yasuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): WEINER, LAURA S
• Application Number:
  US09/659,595
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 429/231.4, 429/231.1, 429/233, 429/231.95, 429/245
• US Class Current: 429/233
• 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 4/131 Electrodes based on mixed oxides or hydroxides, or on mixtures of oxides or hydroxides, e.g. LiCoOx
• 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 4/663 containing carbon or carbonaceous materials as conductive part, e.g. graphite, carbon fibres
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/806 Nonwoven fibrous fabric containing only fibres
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A lithium battery of the invention includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode with a negative electrode current collector retaining lithium metal, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein an activated carbon or graphitized carbon is used as the negative electrode current collector.

Claims

1. A lithium battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode with a negative electrode current collector retaining lithium metal, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein an activated carbon with a minimum pore size in the range of 5 Å

to 16 Å

is used as said negative electrode current collector.

2. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein a fibrous activated carbon is used as said negative electrode current collector.

3. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein said positive electrode employs a lithium-containing transition metal oxide as a positive-electrode material.

4. A lithium battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode with a negative electrode current collector retaining lithium metal, and a nonaqueous electrolyte,

wherein an activated carbon with a specific surface area in the range of 960 m²/g to 2000 m²/g is used as said negative electrode current collector.

5. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 4, wherein a fibrous activated carbon is used as said negative electrode current collector.

6. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 4, wherein said positive electrode employs a lithium-containing transition metal oxide as a positive-electrode material.

7. A lithium battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode with a negative electrode current collector retaining lithium metal, and an aqueous electrolyte, wherein a graphitized carbon is used as said negative electrode current collector, and wherein said graphitized carbon has a spacing d₀₀₂ of lattice planes (002) in the range of 3.35 Å

to 3.43 Å

.

8. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 7, wherein said graphitized carbon has a spacing d₀₀₂ of lattice planes (002) in the range of 3.35 Å

to 3.36 Å

.

9. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 7, wherein said positive electrode employs a lithium-containing transition metal oxide as a positive-electrode material.

10. A lithium battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode with a negative electrode current collector retaining lithium metal, and an aqueous electrolyte, wherein a graphitized carbon is used as said negative electrode current collector, and wherein said graphitized carbon contains crystallite whose size along the c-axis length (Lc) is not less than 40 Å

.

11. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 10, wherein said positive electrode employs a lithium-containing transition metal oxide as a positive-electrode material.

12. A lithium battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode with a negative electrode current collector retaining lithium metal, and an aqueous electrolyte, wherein a graphitized carbon is used as said negative electrode current collector, and wherein said graphitized carbon contains crystallite whose size along the c-axis length (Lc) is not less than 700 Å

.

13. The lithium battery as claimed in claim 12, wherein said positive electrode employs a lithium-containing transition metal oxide as a positive-electrode material.