Negative electrode material for non-aqueous lithium secondary battery, method for manufacturing the same, and non-aqueous lithium secondary battery using the same

• US 6,541,156 B1
• Filed: 11/15/2000
• Issued: 04/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp.), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp.), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishioka, Keiko, Satou, Hideharu, Kasamatsu, Shinji, Nitta, Yoshiaki, Fuse, Tooru
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalafut, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alejandro, Raymond
• Application Number:
  US09/712,207
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 429/218.1, 429/231.8, 429/231.4, 429/232, 296/231, 296/233, 296/234, 296/255, 252/182.1
• US Class Current: 429/218.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2004/027 Negative electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/13 Electrodes for accumulators with non-aqueous electrolyte, e.g. for lithium-accumulators; Processes of manufacture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/36 Selection of substances as active materials, active masses, active liquids
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/364 as mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49115 including coating or impregnating

Abstract

The present invention relates to a negative electrode material for a non-aqueous lithium secondary battery comprising a metal material M consisting of solid phases A and B, a graphite material, and a carbonaceous material having a crystallinity lower than that of said graphite material, wherein said metal material M has a structure in which a part or all of the surface of a core particle consisting of said solid phase A is covered with said solid phase B; said solid phase A contains at least silicon as a constitutive element; and said solid phase B is a solid solution or an intermetallic compound of silicon and a specific element.

Claims

1. A negative electrode material for a non-aqueous lithium secondary battery comprising a metal material M consisting of solid phases A and B, a graphite material, and a carbonaceous material having a crystallinity lower than that of said graphite material, wherein said metal material M has a structure in which a part or all of the surface of a core particle consisting of said solid phase A is covered with said solid phase B;

said solid phase A contains at least silicon as a constituent element; and

said solid phase B is a solid solution or intermetallic compound of (a) silicon and (b) at least one element selected from the group consisting of elements in the group 2, transition metal elements, elements in the group 12, elements in the group 13 and elements excepting carbon and silicon in the group 14 of the periodic table.

2. The negative electrode material according to claim 1, wherein a part or all of the surface of said metal material M is previously covered with said graphite material and said carbonaceous material having the crystallinity lower than that of said graphite material.

3. The negative electrode material according to claim 1, wherein a tap density in the case that tapping is carried out 100 times is not less than 1.3 g/cm³.

4. The negative electrode material according to claim 1, wherein the proportion of said metal material M, said graphite material and said carbonaceous material are 50 to 95 wt %, 4.9 to 30 wt % and 0.1 to 20 wt %, respectively.

5. The negative electrode material according to claim 1, wherein, on the basis of Raman spectrum analysis using an argon ion laser having a wavelength of 514.3 nm, a peak intensity ratio R (=IB/IA) is not less than 0.2 and not more than 1, wherein IA is a peak intensity observed in a range of 1580 cm⁻

1 to 1620 cm<sup>−

1</sup>, and IB is a peak intensity observed in a range of 1350 cm<sup>−

1</sup> to 1370 cm<sup>−

1</sup>.

6. The negative electrode material according to claim 1, wherein a BET specific surface area measured by using nitrogen gas is 0.1 to 20 m²/g.

7. The negative electrode material according to claim 1, wherein when a void ratio is 75%, an electric conductivity is not less that 1×

10<sup>−

5</sup> S/cm.

8. The negative electrode material according to claim 2, wherein the covering proportion of said graphite material or said carbonaceous material which covers the surface of said metal material M observed with SEM is 30 to 100% of the entire surface of said metal material M.

9. A non-aqueous lithium secondary battery comprising at least a positive electrode, a negative electrode and an electrolytic solution obtained by dissolving an electrolyte in a non-aqueous solvent, wherein said negative electrode material according to claim 1 is included in said negative electrode.

10. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 9, wherein, assuming that the entire material of said negative electrode is 100 wt %, said negative electrode includes at least not less than 60 wt % of said negative electrode material and not less than 1 wt % and not more than 30 wt % of said graphite material as a conductive agent.

11. A method for manufacturing a negative electrode material for a non-aqueous lithium secondary battery, wherein a metal material M, a graphite material and a precursor of a carbonaceous material which is an organic material are mixed and baked in an inactive atmosphere;

said metal material M consists of solid phases A and B, and has a structure in which a part or all of the surface of a core particle consisting of said solid phase A is covered with said solid phase B;

said solid phase A includes at least silicon as a constituent element;

said solid phase B is a solid solution or intermetallic compound of (a) silicon and (b) at least one element selected from the group consisting of elements in the group 2, transition metal elements, elements in the group 12, elements in the group 13 and elements except carbon and silicon in the group 14 of the periodic table.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the surface of said metal material M is previously covered with said graphite material and said precursor of said carbonaceous material as an organic material, followed by baking the covered metal material M.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the surface of said metal material M is covered with said graphite material by subjecting said metal material and said graphite material to a mechanical treatment in an inactive atmosphere, and the thus treated material is further subjected to a contact treatment with said precursor of said carbonaceous material and then baked.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said mechanical treatment is carried out in an inactive atmosphere at a shear speed of not less than 10 S⁻

1.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein a baking temperature is 700 to 1500°

C.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein a spacing of crystalline planes (002) of said graphite material is not more than 0.348 nm, and a thickness Lc of a lamination layer of said graphite material is not less than 10 nm.

17. The method for manufacturing a negative electrode material according to claim 11, wherein, on the basis of Raman spectrum analysis using an argon ion laser beam having a wavelength of 514.3 nm, said graphite material has a peak intensity ratio R (=IB/IA) of not more than 0.4, wherein IA is a peak intensity observed in a range of 1580 cm⁻

1 to 1620 cm<sup>−

1</sup>, and IB is a peak intensity observed in a range of 1350 cm<sup>−

1</sup> to 1370 cm<sup>−

1</sup>.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein an average particle diameter of said graphite material is not less than 1 μ

m and not more than 1 mm.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein said precursor of said carbonaceous material is at least one carbonizable organic compound selected from the group consisting of coal tar pitch, coal-based heavy oil, heavy oil from direct distillation, petroleum-based heavy oil, an aromatic hydrocarbon, an azacyclic organic compound, a thiacyclic organic compound, a nitrogen-contained organic polymer, a sulfur-contained organic polymer and a natural polymer.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein said precursor of said carbonaceous material has a hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of not less than 0.4 and not more than 1.8.