Negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery

• US 8,669,008 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Energy Solution Limited (LG Corporation), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: LG Chem Limited (LG Corporation), UNIST Academy-Industry Research CorporationUNIST
• Inventors: Cho, Jaephil, Choo, Jae-Bum, Han, Byung-Hee, Kim, Hyun-Jung, Kim, Ki-Tae, Kim, Je-Young
• Primary Examiner(s): Cantelmo, Gregg
• Application Number:
  US13/239,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20120077087A1
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 429/219, 429220-224, 429/226, 429/229, 429/231.5, 429/231.6, 429/231.8, 252/502, 977/755, 977/773, 977/780, 977/844
• US Class Current: 429/231.8
• 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 4/133 Electrodes based on carbonaceous material, e.g. graphite-intercalation compounds or CFx
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/134 Electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/366 as layered products
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/386 Silicon or alloys based on silicon
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/387 Tin or alloys based on tin
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/40 Alloys based on alkali metals
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/48 of inorganic oxides or hydroxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/587 for inserting or intercalating light metals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

The present invention relates to negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery comprising: a core comprising material capable of doping and dedoping lithium; and, a carbon layer formed on the surface of the core, wherein the carbon layer has a three dimensional porous structure comprising nanopores regularly ordered on the carbon layer with a pore wall of specific thickness placed therebetween.

Claims

1. Negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery comprising:

a core comprising material capable of doping and dedoping lithium; and

a carbon layer formed on the surface of the core,

wherein the carbon layer has a three dimensional porous structure comprising nanopores having average diameter of 100 nm to 300 nm, regularly ordered on the carbon layer with a pore wall having thickness of 40 nm to 150 nm placed therebetween.

2. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the negative-electrode active material has a characteristic peak at 100 eV and/or 104 eV, and does not have any substantial peak at 105 eV and 110 eV in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy graph.

3. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the nanopore has an average diameter of 30 nm to 150 nm, after conducting charge/discharge.

4. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the pore wall between the nanopores is 40 nm to 120 nm, after conducting charge/discharge.

5. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the material capable of doping and dedoping lithium comprises one or more kinds of Group 14 or 15 element-containing material, selected from the group consisting of Si, SiO_x(0<

x<

2), Si—

Y₁ alloy, Sn, SnO₂, Sn—

Y₂, Sb and Ge (wherein, Y₁ and Y₂ are one or more kinds of atoms selected from the group consisting of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, Group 13 atoms, Group 14 atoms, transition metals and rare earth atoms, provided that Y₁ is not Si, and Y₂ is not Sn).

6. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 5, wherein Y₁ and Y₂ are one or more kinds of atoms capable of binding with Si or Sn, selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra, Sc, Y, Ti, Zr, Hf, Rf, V, Nb, Ta, Db, Cr, Mo, W, Sg, Tc, Re, Bh, Fe, Pb, Ru, Os, Hs, Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Cd, B, Al, Ga, Si, Sn, In, Ti, Ge, P, As, Sb, Bi, S, Se, Te, and Po.

7. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the material capable of doping and dedpoing lithium exists as multiple particles, and carbon materials are further comprised between the multiple particles in the core.

8. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the core further comprises an oxide of the material capable of doping and dedpoing lithium.

9. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the material capable of doping and dedpoing lithium has a crystalline structure and crystalline grain in the crystalline structure has an average diameter of 20 nm to 100 nm.

10. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the material capable of doping and dedpoing lithium has a structure comprising crystalline grains dispersed in an amorphous matrix, after conducting charge/discharge.

11. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 10, wherein the dispersed crystalline grain has an average diameter of 2 nm to 5 nm.

12. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the carbon layer has a thickness of 1 nm to 30 nm.

13. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the carbon layer comprises disordered carbon.

14. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 13, wherein the carbon layer has a Raman integrated intensity ratio D/G (I(1360)/I(1580)) of 0.1 to 2.

15. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the negative-electrode active material comprises 5 wt % to 40 wt % of carbon, based on the total amount of the negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery.

16. The negative-electrode active material for rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein the negative-electrode active material has specific surface area of 50 m²/g to 200 m²/g.

17. Rechargeable lithium battery comprising

a positive electrode comprising positive-electrode active material;

a negative electrode comprising negative-electrode active material according to claim 1; and

an electrolyte.

18. The rechargeable lithium battery according to claim 17, wherein the battery shows 94% or more of coulombic efficiency after conducting 30 cycles or more of charge and discharge.