The present invention relates to the technology field of lithium-based batteries, and more particularly to a composite layer and a lithium-based battery including the forgoing composite layer.
With the enormous development of science and technology, demand for high-capacity energy storage devices is booming owing to the emergence of applications for electric vehicles and variety of electronic devices such as smartphone, tablet computer and laptop computer. Currently, the dominant energy storage device remains the battery, particularly the lithium-based batteries that are classified into lithium-ion battery (LIB) and lithium metal battery (LMB). As explained in more detail below, lithium has been regarded as the most promising anode material for high-energy-density batteries due to its extremely high theoretical gravimetric capacity of 3860 mAh·g−1 (vs. graphite (372 mAh·g−1)) along with its low electrochemical potential of −3.04 V.
As stated above, the use of Li anode 11′ is the most preferable in terms of the electrochemical efficiency of a Li metal battery. However, the use of Li anode 11′ is significantly restricted due to the precipitation of lithium in the form of dendrite and a low efficiency upon charging and discharging. Further, a low reactivity in the form of lithium foil and the presence of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the surface of the Li foil are believed to cause a voltage drop and a problem on high-rate discharging in a lithium primary battery, thereby causing the formation of inner short circuit, and more seriously, explosion of the whole Li metal battery 1′. In view of that, U.S. Pat. No. 666,850B2 discloses that letting the Li anode be covered by a polymeric coating is helpful in enhancing safety of the Li metal battery. However, it is a pity that relative experimental data have revealed that, the polymeric coating fails to exhibit chemical and mechanical properties. Moreover, ion conductivity and thermal stability of the polymeric coating is also found having yet to be improved.
From above descriptions, it is understood that there is still room for improvement in the conventional lithium-based battery. In view of that, inventors of the present application have made great efforts to make inventive research and eventually provided a composite layer and a lithium-based battery including the forgoing composite layer.
The primary objective of the present invention is to disclose a composite layer for use in a lithium-based battery is disclosed. The composite layer comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive, wherein there is a weight ratio of the fibrous film to the inorganic additive, and the weight ratio is in a range between 5:95 and 20:80. It is worth explaining that, by letting a lithium-based battery like Li metal battery be integrated with the proposed composite layer, not only does the formation of lithium dendrite be significantly suppressed, but the decomposition of electrolyte is also effectively inhibited. Moreover, the most important thing is that, by letting the lithium-based battery be integrated with the proposed composite layer, capacity retention and coulombic efficiency of the lithium-based battery are both significantly enhanced.
In order to achieve the primary objective of the present invention, inventors of the present invention provide an embodiment for the composite layer for application in a lithium-based battery, and comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive, wherein there is a weight ratio of the fibrous film to the inorganic additive, and the weight ratio being in a range between 5:95 and 20:80.
Moreover, inventors of the present invention also provide an embodiment for a lithium-based battery which is characterized in that a composite layer is integrated in the lithium-based battery, and the composite layer comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive; wherein there is a weight ratio of the fibrous film to the inorganic additive, and the weight ratio being in a range between 5:95 and 20:80.
In one embodiment, the fibrous film comprises a plurality of polymer fibers, and the inorganic additive is doped in the plurality of polymer fibers, or being enclosed in each of the plurality of polymer fibers, thereby making the composite layer has a Young's modulus greater than 8 MPa.
In one embodiment, the composite layer further comprises a lithium salt, such that the composite layer is characterized by comprising a first part by mass of the fibrous film and the inorganic additive occupy and a second part by mass of the lithium salt, so as to make that there is a ratio between the second part by mass and the first part by mass, and the ratio being in a range from 1:4 to 1:100.
In one embodiment, the lithium-based battery is an anode free lithium metal battery (AFLMB), and the composite layer is disposed on a current collector of the anode free lithium metal battery. In which, the current collector is made of a material that is selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, Cu, Al, Ag, alloy containing indium, and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO).
In one embodiment, the lithium-based battery is a lithium-ion battery, and the composite layer is disposed on a lithium manganese oxide (LMO) cathode of the lithium-ion battery, so as to be used as a cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI).
In one embodiment, the fibrous film is made of a material that is selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and pyethylene oxide (PEO).
In one embodiment, the composite layer further comprises an organic member, and the organic member is made of an oligomer with thermal polymerization property that is selected from the group consisting of monomaleimide, polymaleimide, bismaleimide, polybismaleimide, and copolymer of bismaleimide and monomaleimide.
In one embodiment, the inorganic additive comprises a first material that is selected from the group consisting of Al2O3, LiPF6, LiFSI, LiTFSI, LiBF4, LiClO4, LiNO3, Li2C2O4, Li2O2, Li3N, LiN3, and a mixture of two or more of the forgoing materials.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
To more clearly describe a composite layer and a lithium-based battery including the forgoing composite layer disclosed by the present invention, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings hereinafter.
With reference to
Herein, it needs to further emphasize that, the lithium-based battery 2 depicted by
As described in more detail below, the composite layer 1 of the present invention comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive, wherein there is a weight ratio of the fibrous film to the inorganic additive, and the weight ratio is in a range between 5:95 and 20:80. In a practicable embodiment, the fibrous film is made of a material selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and pyethylene oxide (PEO), and comprises a plurality of polymer fibers. On the other hand, the inorganic additive is a powder of cubic lithium garnet material, and is doped in the plurality of polymer fibers, or is enclosed in each of the plurality of polymer fibers, thereby making the composite layer 1 has a Young's modulus greater than 8 MPa.
In a practicable embodiment, the powder of cubic lithium garnet material (i.e., the inorganic additive) comprises a first inorganic material and a second inorganic material. In which, the first inorganic material can be Al2O3, LiPF6, LiFSI, LiTFSI, LiBF4, LiClO4, LiNO3, Li2C2O4, Li2O2, Li3N, LiN3, and a mixture of two or more of the forgoing materials. On the other hand, the second inorganic material can be Al, Nb, Ca, Ta, Ga, Zr, or W. For instance, the powder of cubic lithium garnet material (i.e., the inorganic additive) is Li7La2.75Ca0.25Zr1.75Nb0.25O12 (LLCZN) or Li5.6Ga0.26La2.9Zr1.87Nb0.05O12 (LGLZNO). The processing flow for manufacturing the LLCZN comprises following steps:
To complete a fabrication of the composite layer 1 of the present invention, it needs to let a raw material (powder or beads) of PVDF be dissolved in an organic solvent, and then add the LLCZN powder into the organic solvent, thereby obtaining a specific solution. It is worth explaining that, the forgoing organic solvent is prepared after mixing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and acetone by a ratio of 4:1 (v/v). Moreover, there is a weight ratio of the PVDF to the LLCZN powder, and the weight ratio is in a range between 5:95 and 20:80. For example, content of the PVDF in the specific solution is 16 weight percent (wt %), and the LLCZN powder has content of 84 weight percent (wt %) in the specific solution. As a result, an electro-spinning apparatus is adopted for transforming the specific solution into a plurality of polymer fibers, and the plurality of polymer fibers further form a fibrous film on the copper current collector 24 of the lithium-based battery 2.
In second embodiment, the composite layer 1 of the present invention further comprises a lithium salt, such that the composite layer 1 is characterized by comprising a first part by mass of the fibrous film and the inorganic additive occupy and a second part by mass of the lithium salt, so as to make that there is a ratio between the second part by mass and the first part by mass, and the ratio is in a range from 1:4 to 1:100. Briefly speaking, in second embodiment, the composite layer 1 comprises a fibrous film, an inorganic additive and a lithium salt. In a practicable embodiment, the lithium salt can be LiClO4, and a ratio of the part by mass of the lithium salt LiClO4 to the part by mass of the PVDF fibrous film and the LLCZN powder can be calculated to 20%.
Experiment I
There are 5 samples divided into a control group and an experimental group in experiment I. With reference to following Table (1), sample No. 1 is an anode free lithium metal battery (AFLMB) integrated with a PVDF fibrous film therein, and is put in the control group. On the other hand, samples No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 are all put in experimental group. As explained in more detail below, samples No. 2 is an AFLMB containing an experimental composite layer that comprises a PVDF fibrous film (80 wt %) and a lithium salt LiClO4 (20 wt %), and sample No. 3 is an AFLMB containing an experimental composite layer that comprises a PVDF fibrous film (6 wt %) and a LLCZN powder (94 wt %). Moreover, sample No. 4 is an AFLMB containing the first embodiment of the composite layer 1 according to the present invention, and sample No. 5 is an AFLMB containing the second embodiment of the composite layer 1 according to the present invention. Form above descriptions, it should know that the first embodiment of the composite layer 1 of the present invention comprises a PVDF fibrous film (16 wt %) and a LLCZN powder (84 wt %). Moreover, the second embodiment of the composite layer 1 comprises a PVDF fibrous film (16 wt %), a LLCZN powder (84 wt %) and a lithium salt LiClO4, wherein a ratio of the part by mass of the lithium salt LiClO4 to the part by mass of the PVDF fibrous film and the LLCZN powder can be calculated to 20%.
The
With reference to
In the third embodiment, the composite layer 1 proposed by the present invention is applied in a lithium-ion battery, and is disposed on a lithium manganese oxide (LMO) cathode of the lithium-ion battery, so as to be used as a cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI). In the third embodiment, the composite layer 1 comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive, wherein there is a weight ratio of the fibrous film to the inorganic additive, and the weight ratio being in a range between 5:95 and 20:80.
As described in more detail below, the fibrous film is made of a material selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and pyethylene oxide (PEO), and comprises a plurality of polymer fibers. On the other hand, the inorganic additive is a powder of cubic lithium garnet material, and is doped in the plurality of polymer fibers, or is enclosed in each of the plurality of polymer fibers, thereby making the composite layer 1 has a Young's modulus greater than 8 MPa.
In a practicable embodiment, the powder of cubic lithium garnet material (i.e., the inorganic additive) comprises a first inorganic material and a second inorganic material. In which, the first inorganic material can be Al2O3, LiPF6, LiFSI, LiTFSI, LiBF4, LiClO4, LiNO3, Li2C2O4, Li2O2, Li3N, LiN3, and a mixture of two or more of the forgoing materials. On the other hand, the second inorganic material can be Al, Nb, Ca, Ta, Ga, Zr, or W. For instance, the powder of cubic lithium garnet material (i.e., the inorganic additive) is Li7La2.75Ca0.25Zr1.75Nb0.25O12 (LLCZN) or Li5.6Ga0.26La2.9Zr1.87Nb0.05O12 (LGLZNO). The processing flow for manufacturing the LLCZN powder has been introduced through above descriptions, such that the material engineers skilled in development and synthesis of cubic lithium garnet material should be able to complete the fabrication of a LGLZNO powder by referring the processing flow of the LLCZN powder.
To complete the fabrication of the third embodiment of the composite layer 1, it needs to let a raw material (powder or beads) of PVDF be dissolved in an organic solvent, and then add the LGLZNO powder into the organic solvent, thereby obtaining a specific solution. It is worth explaining that, the forgoing organic solvent is prepared after mixing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and acetone by a ratio of 4:1 (v/v). Moreover, there is a weight ratio of the PVDF to the LGLZNO powder, and the weight ratio is in a range between 5:95 and 20:80. For example, content of the PVDF in the specific solution is 15 weight percent (wt %), and the LGLZNO powder has content of 85 weight percent (wt %) in the specific solution. As a result, an electro-spinning apparatus is adopted for transforming the specific solution into a plurality of polymer fibers, and the plurality of polymer fibers further form the composite layer 1 of the present invention.
Experiment II
There are 2 samples divided into a control group and an experimental group in experiment Ii. With reference to following Table (2), sample No. I is a Li-ion battery having a lithium manganese oxide (LMO) cathode, and is put in the control group. On the other hand, sample No. II is also a Li-ion battery having a LMO cathode. It is worth explaining that, sample No. II is further integrated with the third embodiment of the composite layer of the present invention, and is put in the experimental group. Form above descriptions, it should know that the third embodiment of the composite layer of the present invention comprises a PVDF fibrous film (15 wt %) and a LGLZNO powder (85 wt %).
The
In the fourth embodiment, the composite layer 1 proposed by the present invention comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive, wherein the fibrous film is made of polyethylene oxide (PEO). In other words, PEO is adopted for fabricating a Li-ion transport membrane (i.e., the fibrous film) in the fourth embodiment. More importantly, the PEO fibrous film coating reinforces a thin and robust solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation via hosting lithium and regulating the inevitable reaction of lithium with electrolyte. On the other hand, the inorganic additive principally comprises a first inorganic material, and the first inorganic material can be Al2O3, LiPF6, LiFSI, LiTFSI, LiBF4, LiClO4, LiNO3, Li2C2O4, Li2O2, Li3N, LiN3, and a mixture of two or more of the forgoing materials.
For example, the inorganic additive principally comprises lithium salt like LiNO3 or LiClO4. To complete the fabrication of the fourth embodiment of the composite layer, it needs to let a raw material (powder or beads) of PEO be dissolved in an organic solvent, and then add the lithium salt into the organic solvent, thereby obtaining a specific solution. It is worth explaining that, there is a weight ratio of the PEO to the lithium salt, and the weight ratio is in a range between 5:95 and 20:80. For example, content of the PEO in the specific solution is 15 weight percent (wt %), and the lithium salt has content of 85 weight percent (wt %) in the specific solution. As a result, an electro-spinning apparatus is adopted for transforming the specific solution into a plurality of polymer fibers for forming the composite layer.
When implementing the forth embodiment of the composite layer into a lithium-based battery 2, it needs to mix the forgoing specific solution with a electrolyte comprising 1M LiTFSI-DME/DOL and LiNO3 (2 wt %) so as to for a mixture, and subsequently coat the mixture onto a copper current collector 24 of the lithium-based battery 2. It is worth explaining that, the forgoing 1M LiTFSI-DME/DOL is prepared after dissolving 1M LiTFSI in a solution of DME and DOL, wherein the solution of DME and DOL is prepared after mixing DME and DOL by a ratio of 1:1 (v/v). Moreover, the forgoing LiTFSI is an abbreviation of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, the DME is an abbreviation of dimethoxyethane, and the DOL is an abbreviation of 1,2-dimethoxyethane
In the fifth embodiment, the composite layer 1 proposed by the present invention comprises a fibrous film and an inorganic additive, wherein the fibrous film is made of polyacrylonitril (PAN), and the inorganic additive principally comprises a first inorganic material Al2O3. PAN is adopted for fabricating a Li-ion transport membrane (i.e., the fibrous film) in the fifth embodiment. More importantly, the PAN fibrous film coating reinforces a thin and robust solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation via hosting lithium and regulating the inevitable reaction of lithium with electrolyte. To complete the fabrication of the fifth embodiment of the composite layer, it needs to let a raw material (powder or beads) of PAN be dissolved in an organic solvent, and then add the Al2O3 powder into the organic solvent, thereby obtaining a specific solution. It is worth explaining that, there is a weight ratio of the PAN to the Al2O3 powder, and the weight ratio is in a range between 5:95 and 20:80. For example, content of the PAN in the specific solution is 20 weight percent (wt %), and the Al2O3 powder has content of 80 weight percent (wt %) in the specific solution. As a result, an electro-spinning apparatus is adopted for transforming the specific solution into a plurality of polymer fibers, so as to form the composite layer on a copper current collector 24 of the lithium-based battery 2.
In the sixth embodiment, the composite layer 1 proposed by the present invention comprises a fibrous film (45 wt %), an inorganic additive (0.01-10 wt %) and an organic material (45-55 wt %). In which, the fibrous film is made of a material, and the material can be polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) or polyethylene oxide (PEO). Moreover, the inorganic additive comprises a first material, and the first material can be Al2O3, LiPF6, LiFSI, LiTFSI, LiBF4, LiClO4, LiNO3, Li2C2O4, Li2O2, Li3N, LiN3, and a mixture of two or more of the forgoing materials. On the other hand, the organic material is an oligomer with thermal polymerization property, such as monomaleimide, polymaleimide, bismaleimide, polybismaleimide, and copolymer of bismaleimide and monomaleimide. When implementing the sixth embodiment of the composite layer into a lithium-based battery 2, the composite layer is disposed on a copper current collector 24 of the lithium-based battery 2.
The above description is made on embodiments of the composite layer according to the present invention. However, the embodiments are not intended to limit scope of the present invention, and all equivalent implementations or alterations within the spirit of the present invention still fall within the scope of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/927,713, filed on Oct. 30, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62927713 | Oct 2019 | US |