FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970) 5
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 10
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
15
Title of invention:
ANODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERY AND LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERY INCLUDING SAME
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APPLICANT:
LG CHEM, LTD. A Company incorporated in South Korea
Having Address: 25 128, Yeoui-daero, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 150-721,
Republic of Korea
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The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed. 2
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery and a lithium secondary battery using the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to an anode active material comprising a silicon oxide which can provide 5 improved life characteristics and high capacity.
This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0138258 filed in the Republic of Korea on November 30, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 10
This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0147707 filed in the Republic of Korea on November 29, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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BACKGROUND ART
Recently, there has been an increasing interest in energy storage technology. Electrochemical devices have been widely used as energy sources in the fields of cellular phones, camcorders, notebook computers, PCs and electric cars, resulting in intensive 20 research and development into them.
In this regard, electrochemical devices are one of the subjects of great interest. Particularly, development of rechargeable secondary batteries has been the focus of attention. Recently, research and development of such batteries are focused on the designs of new 25 electrodes and batteries to improve capacity density and specific energy.
Many secondary batteries are currently available. Among these, lithium secondary batteries developed in the early 1990’s have drawn particular attention due to their advantages of higher operating voltages and much higher energy densities than conventional 30 aqueous electrolyte-based batteries, for example, Ni-MH, Ni-Cd, and H2SO4-Pb batteries.
Generally, a lithium secondary battery is prepared by using a cathode and an anode which are each made of a material capable of intercalating and disintercalating lithium ions, 3
and filling an organic or polymer electrolyte solution between the cathode and the anode, and the battery produces electrical energy by oxidation and reduction when the lithium ions are intercalated and disintercalated in the cathode and the anode.
In lithium secondary batteries which are currently available, an anode is mostly made 5 of carbon-based materials as an electrode active material. Particularly, graphite which has been commercially available has a real capacity of about 350 to 360 mAh/g which approaches its theoretical capacity of about 372 mAh/g. Although a carbon-based material such as graphite has a capacity of such a degree, it does not meet the demand for high-capacity lithium secondary batteries as an anode active material. 10
In order to meet such a demand, attempts have been made to use metals as an anode active material, for example, Si, Sn, an oxide and an alloy thereof, that have a higher charge/discharge capacity than the carbon materials and that allow electrochemical alloying with lithium. 15
However, this metal-based electrode active material has a great change in volume during charging/discharging, which may cause cracks and micronization to the active material. Secondary batteries using this metal-based anode active material may suddenly be deteriorated in capacity and have reduced cycle life during repeated charging/discharging 20 cycles. Accordingly, there is a need for solving the deterioration of capacity and cycle life by the use of such a metal-based electrode active material.
DISCLOSURE
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Technical Problem
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a silicon-based anode active material which can provide high capacity and does not deteriorate life characteristics, and an anode and a secondary battery comprising the anode active material. 30
Technical Solution
In order to achieve the object, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an anode active material, comprising silicon-based particles obtained from 4
at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the silicon-based particles are a faceted type of anode active material and such a faceted type of silicon-based 5 particles may come into contact with each other by at least one of line contact and area contact.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the faceted type of silicon-based particles may have a polyhedral shape consisting of only facets as a whole. 10
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape may have a surface area greater than that of spherical silicon-based particles by 1.01 to 5 times when their volume is in the same level as volume of the spherical silicon-based particles. 15
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape may have an average diameter of 0.1 to 30 m.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the silicon-based 20 particles having a faceted shape may be a silicon alloy which comprises silicon and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sn, Zr, Mn, Ni, Fe, Ca, Ce, La, Cr, Al, Co, Sb, Bi, As, Ge, Pb, Zn, Cd, In, Ti, Cu, Bi, Mo and Ga.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the anode active 25 material may be a single phase consisting of only silicon-based particles obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an anode for a lithium secondary battery, comprising a current collector and an anode active material 30 layer formed on at least one surface of the current collector, wherein the anode active material layer comprises the anode active material according to the present invention. 5
Further, in accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lithium secondary battery, comprising a cathode, an anode, and a separator interposed between the cathode and the anode, wherein the anode is one defined in the present invention.
Advantageous Effects 5
The anode active material of the present invention comprises silicon-based particles obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy, and the silicon-based particles have a faceted shape, thereby providing high capacity and good life characteristics without causing any deterioration which has been generated in the use of conventional 10 silicon-based particles, and eventually providing a lithium secondary battery having such characteristics.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and, together with the foregoing disclosure, serve to provide further understanding of the technical spirit of the present invention. However, the present invention is not to be construed as being limited to the drawings.
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FIG. 1 shows Si alloy particles having a faceted shape, prepared in Example 1.
FIG. 2 shows Si alloy particles having spherical shape, prepared in Comparative Example 1.
FIG. 3 is an SEM photograph of Si alloy particles having a faceted shape, prepared in Example 1. 25
FIG. 4 is an SEM photograph of Si alloy particles having spherical shape, prepared in Comparative Example 1.
FIG. 5 is an apparatus of preparing Si alloy particles having a faceted shape, used in Example 1.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are apparatuses of preparing Si alloy particles having spherical shape, 30 used in Comparative Example 1. 6
BEST MODE
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. Prior to the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as limited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based 5 on the meanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the present invention on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation.
The anode active material of the present invention is characterized by comprising 10 silicon-based particles obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape.
In the case that conventional silicon-based particles are used as an anode active material, these particles are subject to volume change while lithium is charged and 15 discharged, and thus may be cracked and micronized. For this reason, secondary batteries using such an anode active material may suddenly be deteriorated in capacity and have reduced cycle life during repeated charging/discharging cycles. In order to minimize such a volume expansion, attempts have been made to control the crystallinity of silicon-based particles or form a Si-activated core part and an inactive matrix structure. However, such 20 attempts are merely relevant to the internal structure of silicon-based particles. As another attempt, the present inventors have endeavored to control the external shape of silicon-based particles used as an anode active material, not the internal structure thereof, thereby preventing life characteristics from being deteriorated by the volume change of the anode active material during charging and discharging, and specifically found that the use of 25 silicon-based particles having a faceted shape, instead of conventional spherical particles, can provide good life characteristics even if volume expansion occurs because the faceted particles can come into easy contact with each other, as compared with the spherical particles. That is, the present inventors have applied a faceted shape in the external structure of silicon-based particles, based on the probability that if initial contact between active materials 30 becomes increased from the beginning of charging and discharging cycles under the conditions of the same composition and the same particle size, a contact area between the active materials can continuously increase even after the cycles are progressed. In reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 2 shows spherical anode active materials which come into point 7
contact with each other, while FIG. 1 shows faceted anode active materials which satisfy at least one of line contact or area contact with each other. On the basis of this matter, when an active material has a faceted shape, a contact area between the active materials increases. FIG. 1 schematically shows the faceted shape of particles, and the present invention is not limited to the shape shown. 5
As used herein, the term “faceted” for the external shape of Si-based particles refers to a three-dimensional solid object bounded by polygonal facets, i.e., encompasses any particles consisting of various polygons, not a spherical form. Such a faceted form includes a convex polyhedron, a concave polyhedron, or both. The external shape of the Si-based 10 particles, i.e. all polygonal faces (facets) consisting of the outer surfaces of such particles, may be constant or not be constant (i.e., amorphous). Also, multiple Si-based particles may have shapes different from each other.
In addition, the faceted type of Si-based particles according to the present invention 15 may have a polyhedral shape consisting of only facets (planes) as a whole, or a polyhedral shape having facets (planes) in a substantial part thereof, i.e., partially not being spherical.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape may have a surface area greater than that of spherical silicon-based particles by 1.01 to 5 times, preferably 1.5 to 4 times when their volume is in the same level 20 as volume of the spherical silicon-based particles.
By satisfying such a surface area range, more easy contact between particles can be achieved, and secondary battery comprising such particles can exhibit good life characteristics. 25
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape may have an average diameter of 0.1 to 30 m.
The anode active material of the present invention may be a silicon-based substance 30 obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy, and among these, the silicon alloy is preferred. The silicon alloy comprises silicon and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sn, Zr, Mn, Ni, Fe, Ca, Ce, La, Cr, Al, Co, Sb, Bi, As, 8
Ge, Pb, Zn, Cd, In, Ti, Cu, Bi, Mo and Ga. If the silicon alloy is used as a silicon-based substance, a phase of only Si functions to develop capacity, while an alloy phase of Si and two kinds of elements other than Si or an alloy phase of two kinds of elements acts as the matrix of Si. Therefore, the silicon alloy has superior life characteristics and the ability of thickness expansion, as compared with a simple Si-based substance, and also the silicon alloy 5 is free of oxygen to provide high initial efficiency, as compared with SiO. Accordingly, the silicon alloy is preferably used, but other silicon-based substances mentioned above may also be used in the present invention without being limited to only the silicon alloy.
In addition, the anode active material of the present invention may be a single phase 10 consisting of only silicon-based particles obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy, i.e., not comprising other kinds of substances except the silicon-based particles.
In the present invention, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape may be 15 prepared by the following method.
Specifically, the silicon-based substance as mentioned is provided, and is subject to milling using a ball-mill, a jet-mill or a vibration mill so that the substance is milled by way of collision and then has a faceted shape. 20
The anode active material thus prepared can be used in the preparation of an anode according to a conventional method known in the art. Also, in the present invention, a cathode may be prepared by a conventional method known in the art, similar to the preparation of an anode. For example, the anode active material of the present invention is 25 mixed with a binder, a solvent, and optionally a conducting material and a dispersing agent, followed by stirring, to produce a slurry and applying the slurry on a current collector, followed by compression, to prepare an electrode.
The binder which may be used in the present invention includes various kinds of 30 binder polymers including vinylidenefluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (PVDF-co-HFP), polyvinylidenefluoride, polyacrylonitrile, and polymethylmethacrylate. 9
A cathode active material which may be used in the present invention preferably includes a lithium-containing transition metal oxide, for example, any one selected from the group consisting of LixCoO2 (0.5 12

- Charge condition: Charging of the batteries was conducted up to 5 mV at constant current, and completed when a current density reached 0.005C.
- Discharge condition: Discharging of the batteries was conducted up to 1.0 V at constant current.

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Table 1 Discharge Capacity
(mAh/g) Capacity before charging
(mAh/g) Initial Efficienty
(%) Normalized Capacity(%)
@ 50th cycle
Ex. 1 1050 1235 85.0 86
Com. Ex. 2 1042 1229 84.8 64
WE CLAIM:
1. An anode active material, comprising silicon-based particles obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy, the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape.
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2. The anode active material of claim 1, wherein the silicon-based particles are a faceted anode active material and the faceted silicon-based particles come into contact with each other by at least one of line contact and area contact.
3. The anode active material of claim 1, wherein the faceted silicon-based particles have a 10 polyhedral shape consisting of only facets as a whole.
4. The anode active material of claim 1, wherein the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape have a surface area greater than that of spherical silicon-based particles by 1.01 to 5 times when their volume is in the same level as volume of the spherical silicon-based 15 particles.
5. The anode active material of claim 1, wherein the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape have an average diameter of 0.1 to 30 m.
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6. The anode active material of claim 1, wherein the silicon-based particles having a faceted shape comprises a silicon alloy which comprises silicon and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sn, Zr, Mn, Ni, Fe, Ca, Ce, La, Cr, Al, Co, Sb, Bi, As, Ge, Pb, Zn, Cd, In, Ti, Cu, Bi, Mo and Ga.
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7. The anode active material of claim 1, which is a single phase consisting of only silicon-based particles obtained from at least one of silicon, a silicon oxide and a silicon alloy.
8. An anode for a lithium secondary battery, comprising a current collector; and an anode active material layer formed on at least one surface of the current collector 30
wherein the anode active material layer comprises the anode active material of any one of claim 1 to 7. 14
9. A lithium secondary battery, comprising a cathode, an anode, and a separator interposed between the cathode and the anode,
wherein the anode is defined in claim 8.