The present disclosure belongs to the technical field of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), and in particular relates to a prelithiation reagent for an LIB, and a preparation method therefor and use thereof.
During the initial charge process of an LIB, a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film will be formed on a surface of an anode, during which a part of active lithium in a cathode material needs to be consumed, and this part of lithium cannot be returned to the cathode material during a discharge process of the battery, which leads to a decrease in the discharge capacity and initial Coulomb efficiency (ICE) of the cathode material. The prelithiation technology is an effective way to compensate for capacity loss of a cathode material caused by the formation of an SEI film on an anode of an LIB. A principle of the prelithiation technology is as follows: an SEI film is formed on a surface of an anode before the delithiation of a cathode active material to reduce Li+ loss of the cathode material in this process, thereby improving the service efficiency of Li+ and the capacity of the battery.
Lithium supplementation for an anode is currently the most common method for prelithiation of a battery. A principle of the method is as follows: a prelithiation reagent (such as an inert lithium powder) is allowed to directly contact an anode material through a potential difference to enable a chemical reaction, such that an anode is lithium-intercalated previously, and the anode lithium-intercalated previously by this method is used to assemble an LIB, which can greatly improve the ICE. However, this method requires an additional previous lithium-intercalation process in a battery assembly process, it is not easy to control a degree of lithiation, and the reactivity of the prelithiation reagent is high, which poses a potential safety hazard.
Lithium supplementation for a cathode is to add a small amount of a prelithiation reagent during a stirring process of a cathode material slurry, and during the initial charge process of a battery, the prelithiation reagent can provide additional lithium for the formation of an SEI film to compensate for the loss of active lithium in the cathode material, thereby improving the Coulomb efficiency and capacity of the battery. Materials each with an antifluorite structure such as Li5FeO4 have higher irreversible capacity and are ideal prelithiation materials for cathode. However, these materials have extremely poor electric conductivity and air stability, and difficulty in preparation, and require a high preparation cost, making it difficult to achieve large-scale industrial production and application.
The following is a summary of subject matters described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit a scope of protection of claims.
The present disclosure provides a prelithiation reagent for an LIB, and a preparation method therefor and use thereof. The prelithiation reagent can provide enough Lit for the formation of an SEI film on a surface of an anode during the initial charge of an LIB to reduce the loss of Lit in a cathode material and improve the Coulomb efficiency and capacity of the LIB.
According an aspect of the present disclosure, a prelithiation reagent for an LIB is provided. The prelithiation reagent for the LIB has a chemical formula of Li5FeO4@C; and the prelithiation reagent for the LIB has a structure of secondary particles generated from the agglomeration of Li5FeO4 primary particles, and carbon is coated on a surface of the Li5FeO4 primary particles.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a content of carbon in the prelithiation reagent for the LIB is 1 wt. % to 20 wt. %.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the Li5FeO4 primary particles have a particle size of less than or equal to 10 μm.
The present disclosure also provides a preparation method of the prelithiation reagent for the LIB described above, including the following steps:
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S1, the soluble salt of Fe is at least one selected from the group consisting of a sulfate, a nitrate, an acetate, and a chloride.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S1, the carbon source is at least one selected from the group consisting of a carbon-containing compound and elemental carbon, the carbon-containing compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polyacetylene (PA), polythiophene (PTh), and polydopamine (PDA), and the elemental carbon is at least one selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon fiber, graphdiyne (GDY), carbon black, and Ketjen black; and the carbon source is subjected to an acidification treatment. The acidification treatment is achieved by stirring the carbon source in an oxidizing acid, with a reaction equation as follows: R=C+3 H++3O2−→R—COOH+H2O. After an acidified carbon source with carboxyl group is mixed with the soluble salt of Fe, Fe ions are more dispersedly attached to the carbon source.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S1, a molar ratio of Fe in the soluble salt of Fe to C in the carbon source is 1:(0.13-3.22).
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S1, the solvent is at least one selected from the group consisting of water, ethanol, ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), propanol, isopropanol, propylene glycol (PG), glycerol, n-butanol, isobutanol, tert-butanol, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO).
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S2, a molar ratio of the aqueous ammonia to the Fe in the soluble salt of Fe is (2-3): 1.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S3, the solvothermal reaction is conducted at a temperature of 150° C. to 250° C. and a pressure of 0.5 MPa to 10 MPa. Further, the solvothermal reaction is conducted for 1 h to 10 h.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S3, the solvothermal reaction is conducted in a high-temperature and high-pressure reactor, and a volume of the mixed solution B is 50% to 85% of a volume of the high-temperature and high-pressure reactor.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S4, the high-temperature solid-phase reaction is conducted at 500° C. to 800° C. for 8 h to 20 h.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S4, the lithium source is at least one selected from the group consisting of lithium hydroxide, lithium oxide, lithium peroxide, lithium fluoride, and lithium nitrate.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S4, a molar ratio of Fe in the Fe2O3/carbon composite to Li in the lithium source is 1:(5-10).
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in S4, the inert atmosphere is at least one selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, and helium.
The present disclosure also provides use of the prelithiation reagent for the LIB described above in a cathode material of an LIB or a cathode sheet of an LIB. Specifically, the prelithiation reagent for the LIB is added during a stirring process of a cathode material slurry of an LIB, where an addition amount of the prelithiation reagent for the LIB is 0.5% to 10% of a mass of the cathode material slurry of an LIB; or the prelithiation reagent for the LIB is independently prepared into a slurry and then uniformly coated on a surface of a cathode sheet of an LIB, where a coating amount of the prelithiation reagent for the LIB is 0.5% to 10% of a mass of the cathode material of an LIB, and an LIB assembled by the cathode sheet can show an effect of lithium supplementation at a battery formation stage.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure at least has the following beneficial effects.
1. The prelithiation reagent Li5FeO4@C provided by the present disclosure includes rich active Lit and has higher irreversible capacity.
2. The preparation method of the prelithiation reagent provided by the present disclosure involves a simple process, where a sintering process of the prelithiation reagent is simple without sintering for multiple times, and a pure-phase compound can be obtained by only one sintering at a lower temperature.
3. A precursor used in a traditional solid-phase method is usually presented as hundred-nano-scale or even micro-scale particles, and primary particles of a prepared prelithiation reagent are too large, resulting in poor electric conductivity. In the present disclosure, a carbon source is mixed with a soluble salt of Fe, such that Fe ions are attached to the carbon source; then aqueous ammonia is added, such that a hydroxide with small particles and high dispersibility is generated; and then a solvothermal reaction is conducted to obtain a nano-scale oxide. The carbon source can also act as a barrier among particles in a subsequent sintering process to slow down the growth of primary particles and avoid the generation of large single-crystal particles. The prelithiation reagent prepared by the method has smaller primary particles, makes a Li+ deintercalation path shorter during charge, and leads to prominent rate performance.
4. Due to the extremely-poor air stability and electric conductivity of the material Li5FeO4 with an antifluorite structure, a surface of the Li5FeO4 primary particles provided by the present disclosure is coated with a layer of carbon material, which can avoid the direct contact between the host material and air, slow down a reaction with water and carbon dioxide in air, and improve the air stability of the material; and the coating of the carbon material can improve the electric conductivity of the prelithiation reagent and lead to a higher capacity at a large current.
The drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions herein, constitute a part of the description, and explain the technical solutions herein in conjunction with examples of the present disclosure, without limiting the technical solutions herein. The present disclosure is further described below with reference to accompanying drawings and examples.
The concepts and technical effects of the present disclosure are clearly and completely described below in conjunction with examples, so as to allow the objectives, features and effects of the present disclosure to be fully understood. Apparently, the described examples are merely some rather than all of the examples of the present disclosure. All other examples obtained by those skilled in the art based on the examples of the present disclosure without creative efforts should fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In this example, a prelithiation reagent for an LIB was prepared, which had a chemical formula of Li5FeO4@C. The prelithiation reagent had a structure of secondary particles generated from the agglomeration of Li5FeO4 primary particles; carbon was coated on a surface of the Li5FeO4 primary particles at a carbon content of 10 wt. %; and the Li5FeO4 primary particles had a particle size of less than or equal to 10 μm. A specific preparation process was as follows:
In this example, a prelithiation reagent for an LIB was prepared, which had a chemical formula of Li5FeO4@C. The prelithiation reagent had a structure of secondary particles generated from the agglomeration of Li5FeO4 primary particles; carbon was coated on a surface of the Li5FeO4 primary particles at a carbon content of 5 wt. %; and the Li5FeO4 primary particles had a particle size of less than or equal to 10 μm. A specific preparation process was as follows:
In this example, a prelithiation reagent for an LIB was prepared, which had a chemical formula of Li5FeO4@C. The prelithiation reagent had a structure of secondary particles generated from the agglomeration of Li5FeO4 primary particles; carbon was coated on a surface of the Li5FeO4 primary particles at a carbon content of 2 wt. %; and the Li5FeO4 primary particles had a particle size of less than or equal to 10 μm. A specific preparation process was as follows:
In this example, a prelithiation reagent for an LIB was prepared, which had a chemical formula of Li5FeO4@C. The prelithiation reagent had a structure of secondary particles generated from the agglomeration of Li5FeO4 primary particles; carbon was coated on a surface of the Li5FeO4 primary particles at a carbon content of 15 wt. %; and the Li5FeO4 primary particles had a particle size of less than or equal to 10 μm. A specific preparation process was as follows:
In this comparative example, a prelithiation reagent was prepared. A preparation process was different from Example 1 in that the carbon source, the lithium source, and the Fe2O3 were directly mixed; and a specific process was as follows:
In this comparative example, a prelithiation reagent for an LIB was prepared. A preparation process was different from Example 1 in that no carbon source was added in step (1); and a specific process was as follows:
The prelithiation reagents of Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 to 2 were each used as a cathode active material to prepare a cathode sheet, and the cathode sheet was assembled into an LIB for a charge-discharge test. Test results were shown in Table 1.
It can be seen from Table 1 that each of the examples has small primary particles, and shows higher electric conductivity because the primary particles are coated with carbon; each of the comparative examples has large primary particles, and shows extremely-low or even no electric conductivity. Although carbon coating is conducted in Comparative Example 1, this comparative example shows very low electric conductivity, because the coating is achieved through simple solid-phase mixing and sintering and carbon is not well coated on the material surface. Although the charge capacity of each of the examples and comparative examples at 0.01 C is higher than 600 mAh/g; the charge capacity of each of the comparative examples at 0.2 C is extremely low. Wherein, because no carbon source is introduced in Comparative Example 2, the electric conductivity is 0 and there is almost no charge capacity. Since no carbon coating is conducted or the effect of carbon coating is poor, no carbon material acts as a barrier in the sintering process, such that the primary particles continue to grow and Li+ is not easy to be released during charge at a large current. While, the charge capacity of each of the examples is still higher than 600 mAh/g, indicating that the preparation method provided by the present disclosure can effectively improve the electric conductivity of the prelithiation reagent Li5FeO4, that is, the carbon coating can greatly improve the electric conductivity of the material.
With LiCoO2 as a cathode active material, each of the prelithiation reagents prepared in Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 to 2 was added during a stirring process of a slurry at an amount 5 wt. % of the cathode active material to prepare a cathode sheet; with graphite as an anode active material, an electrode sheet was prepared; and an LIB was assembled to undergo a charge-discharge test and a cycling test. Test results were shown in Table 2.
It can be seen from Table 2 that, in the slurry stirring process for the LiCoO2 battery, each of the prelithiation reagents of the examples and comparative examples is added, and then a test is conducted at a current of 0.2 C and a voltage range of 3.0 V to 4.48 V; and the addition of each of the prelithiation reagents of the examples greatly improves the charge and discharge capacities and the ICE of the battery, while the addition of each of the prelithiation reagents of the comparative examples does not significantly improve the performance of the battery. It is indicated that the addition of each of the prelithiation reagents prepared in the examples can improve the specific capacity and Coulomb efficiency, and can also greatly improve the cycling performance.
The examples of present disclosure are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those of ordinary skill in the technical field, various changes can also be made without departing from the purpose of the present disclosure. In addition, the examples and features therein in the present disclosure may be combined with each other in a non-conflicting situation.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202210101748.5 | Jan 2022 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2022/135781 | 12/1/2022 | WO |