Dry particle based energy storage device product

• US 7,791,861 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tesla Inc.
• Original Assignee: Maxwell Technologies Incorporated (Tesla Inc.)
• Inventors: Mitchell, Porter, Xi, Xiaomei, Zhong, Linda, Zou, Bin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ha; Nguyen T
• Application Number:
  US12/023,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20080117564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 361/502, 361503-504, 361508-512, 361523-528, 361516-519, 29/250.1, 29/250.3
• US Class Current: 361/502
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/22 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/38 Carbon pastes or blends; Binders or additives therein
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/42 Powders or particles, e.g. composition thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/86 specially adapted for electrodes carbonisation or activation of carbon for the manufacture of electrodes H01G11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 9/00 Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/13 Energy storage using capacitors

Abstract

An inexpensive and reliable dry process based capacitor and method for making a self-supporting dry electrode film for use therein is disclosed. Also disclosed is an exemplary process for manufacturing an electrode for use in an energy storage device product, the process comprising: supplying dry carbon particles; supplying dry binder; dry mixing the dry carbon particles and dry binder; and dry fibrillizing the dry binder to create a matrix within which to support the dry carbon particles as dry material.

Claims

1. An energy storage device product, comprising:

a self supporting film comprising of a dry mix of dry carbon and dry binder particles, wherein the dry mix comprises substantially no processing additives.

2. The product of claim 1, wherein the dry mix comprises a dry fibrillized mix.

3. The product of claim 2, wherein the dry mix is dry fibrillized by application of high-shear forces.

4. The process of claim 3, wherein the high-shear forces are performed in a jet-mill.

5. The product of claim 2, wherein the dry mix is dry fibrillized by application of a high pressure.

6. The product of claim 5, wherein the high pressure is applied by a dry high pressure gas.

7. The product of claim 6, wherein the high pressure is applied by air with a dew point between about −

120 and −

40 degrees F.

8. The product of claim 1, wherein the self-supporting film comprises a thickness of less than about 250 microns.

9. The product of claim 1, wherein the self-supporting film is calendered onto a first side of a substrate.

10. The product of claim 9, wherein the self-supporting film is calendered directly onto the first side of the substrate.

11. The product of claim 9, wherein the substrate comprises a collector.

12. The product of claim 11, wherein the collector comprises an aluminum foil.

13. The product of claim 9 wherein a second self-supporting substrate is calendered on a second side of the collector opposite the first side.

14. The product of claim 1, wherein the dry binder comprises a fibrillizable fluoropolymer.

15. The product of claim 1, wherein the dry carbon of the self-supporting film comprises dry activated carbon and dry conductive carbon.

16. The product of claim 1, wherein the self-supporting film further comprises dry conductive particles.

17. The product of claim 16, wherein the dry conductive particles comprise a metal.

18. The product of claim 1, wherein the processing additives are selected from a group consisting of:

hydrocarbons, high boiling point solvents, antifoaming agents, surfactants, dispersion aids, water, pyrrolidone mineral spirits, ketones, naphtha, acetates, alcohols, glycols, toluene, xylene, and isoparaffinic fluids.

19. The product of claim 1, wherein the self-supporting film comprises an electrode of a capacitor.

20. The product of claim 1, wherein the self-supporting film comprises an electrode of a double-layer capacitor.