Specification
Technical Field
[4] The present invention relates to a method of evaluating the quality of an
electrode by a simple means of measuring a color coordinate value of the electrode
before roll-pressing and a method of manufacturing an electrode including evaluating
the quality of the electrode thereby.
15
Background Art
[5] Adhesion, thickness, and loading amount are some of the commonly known
electrode quality inspection items. Among these electrode quality inspection items,
adhesion is an item for filtering out electrodes detached in an electrode assembly
20 process, electrodes peeled off in the activation process, and the like, and is a very
important quality inspection item.
[6] However, there are problems in that the adhesion of an electrode can only be
evaluated after roll-pressing, and electrode quality cannot be evaluated in real time.
[7] Therefore, there is a need to develop a method capable of evaluating electrode
25 quality by evaluating properties before roll-pressing.
3
Disclosure
Technical Problem
[8] The present invention is directed to providing a method of evaluating
5 electrode quality which is capable of filtering out defective electrodes before rollpressing by the simple means of measuring a color coordinate value of electrodes
before roll-pressing.
Technical Solution
10 [9] One aspect of the present invention provides a method of evaluating electrode
quality capable of simply and quickly filtering out defective electrodes by measuring
a color coordinate value of electrodes before roll-pressing, which specifically includes:
providing an electrode which includes a current collector and an active material layer
formed on the current collector and has not been roll-pressed; measuring a color
15 coordinate value of the active material layer using an optical instrument; and
evaluating the electrode as a good product when the measured color coordinate value
satisfies a predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion and as defective when
the measured color coordinate value does not satisfy the predetermined electrode
quality evaluation criterion.
20 [10] Another aspect of the present invention includes a method of manufacturing
an electrode, which includes: forming an active material layer by applying a slurry
including an active material, a conductive material, and a binder onto a current
collector and drying, and thus manufacturing an electrode which has not been rollpressed; evaluating the quality of the electrode by the above-described method; and
25 roll-pressing an electrode evaluated as a good product.
4
Advantageous Effects
[11] A method of evaluating electrode quality according to the present invention is
capable of simply and quickly filtering out defective electrodes by measuring a color
5 coordinate value of electrodes before roll-pressing. That is, it is possible to filter out
defective electrodes even before roll-pressing, and therefore, it is possible to
significantly reduce a defect rate of finished electrode products.
[12] In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to predict
adhesion, which is a property attained after roll-pressing, by the simple means of
10 measuring a color coordinate value before roll-pressing.
Best Mode of the Invention
[13] Terms and words used in this specification and the claims should not be
interpreted as being limited to commonly used meanings or meanings in dictionaries,
15 and, based on the principle that the inventors can appropriately define concepts of
terms in order to describe their invention in the best way, the terms and words should
be interpreted with meanings and concepts which are consistent with the technical
spirit of the present invention.
[14] It will be understood that terms such as “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”
20 “including,” “has” or “having,” when used in the present specification, specify the
presence of stated features, numbers, steps, components, or combinations thereof and
do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features,
numbers, steps, components, or combinations thereof.
25 [15] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
5
[16]
[17] A method of evaluating electrode quality according to the present invention is
an electrode quality evaluation method capable of simply and quickly filtering out
5 defective electrodes by measuring a color coordinate value of an electrode before rollpressing, and the method specifically includes: providing an electrode which includes
a current collector and an active material layer formed on the current collector and has
not been roll-pressed; measuring a color coordinate value of the active material layer
using an optical instrument; and evaluating the electrode as a good product when the
10 measured color coordinate value satisfies a predetermined electrode quality evaluation
criterion and as defective when the measured color coordinate value does not satisfy
the predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion.
[18] When a color coordinate value of an active material layer of an electrode
15 which has not been roll-pressed is measured using the optical instrument as described
above and satisfies a predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion, after the
electrode is roll-pressed, since the adhesion between a current collector and an active
material layer is excellent, an adhesion defect may not occur. For example, when an
electrode classified as a good product according to the present invention is roll-pressed,
20 an adhesive strength of 40 gf/20 mm or more can be secured between a current
collector and an active material layer of the electrode.
[19] According to the present invention, it is possible to predict adhesion, which is
a property attained after roll-pressing, by the simple means of measuring a color
coordinate value before roll-pressing and filter out defective electrodes before roll25 pressing. That is, it is possible to filter out defective electrodes even before roll-
6
pressing, and therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce a defect rate of finished
electrode products.
[20] Hereinafter, each step of the method of evaluating electrode quality according
5 to the present invention will be described in more detail.
[21] Provision of electrode which has not been roll-pressed
[22] The present invention includes a step of providing an electrode which includes
a current collector and an active material layer formed on the current collector and has
10 not been roll-pressed.
[23] The present invention does not evaluate electrodes that have been roll-pressed
as in conventional electrode quality evaluation but evaluates the quality of battery
electrodes that have not been roll-pressed, so defective electrodes can be filtered out
before roll-pressing, and a defect rate after roll-pressing can be significantly reduced.
15
[24] Measurement of color coordinate value of active material layer of
electrode
[25] The present invention includes a step of measuring a color coordinate value
of the active material layer using an optical instrument.
20 [26] The optical instrument is an instrument including a light source and an image
sensor, and when an active material layer of each of the electrodes is analyzed using
the optical instrument, color information from the surface of the active material layer
of each of the electrodes is converted into color coordinate values and detected. The
image sensor is a device capable of converting incoming light into an electrical signal
25 and may be, for example, a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor or a complementary
7
metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor.
[27] According to the present invention, the optical instrument may be a
spectrophotometer or a colorimeter.
[28] The color coordinate value collectively refers to numerical values expressed
5 as coordinates in a three-dimensional color space, and, for example, the color
coordinate value may be an L*
value, an a*
value, or a whiteness value.
[29] According to the present invention, the color coordinate value of an active
material layer may be measured by a contact colorimeter or a non-contact colorimeter.
That is, the colorimeter may be a contact colorimeter or a non-contact colorimeter.
10 In the case of using a non-contact colorimeter, since measurement is possible without
direct contact with a sample, measurement is convenient, and measurement can be
performed in a continuous manufacturing process.
[30] The color coordinate value of an active material layer may be measured, for
example, using a CM2600d colorimeter manufactured by Konica Minolta, Inc.
15 Specifically, the color coordinate value may be measured using a CM2600d
colorimeter manufactured by Konica Minolta, Inc., by setting the measurement mode
to Specular Component Included (SCI) or Specular Component Excluded (SCE) and
selecting a D65 standard light source (color temperature: 6,500 K) and the CIE 1976
10° standard observer, performing white correction, and then bringing the colorimeter
20 into contact with a location to be measured.
[31] Evaluation of electrode as good or defective through comparison of
measured color coordinate value with predetermined electrode quality evaluation
criterion
25 [32] The present invention includes a step of evaluating the electrode as a good
8
product when the measured color coordinate value satisfies a predetermined electrode
quality evaluation criterion and as defective when the measured color coordinate value
does not satisfy the predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion.
[33] When the measured color coordinate value satisfies the predetermined
5 electrode quality evaluation criterion, since excellent adhesion between a current
collector and an active material layer can be secured after roll-pressing, a defect rate
of an electrode which has been roll-pressed can be significantly reduced.
[34] According to the present invention, when the color coordinate value is an L*
value, the predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion for the L*
10 value may be
35.4 or more and preferably 35.4 or more and 40 or less.
[35] According to the present invention, when the color coordinate value is an a*
value, the predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion for the a*
value may be
0.78 or more and preferably 0.78 or more and 0.96 or less.
15 [36] According to the present invention, when the color coordinate value is a
whiteness value, the predetermined electrode quality evaluation criterion for the
whiteness value may be 7 or more and preferably 7 or more and 9 or less.
[37] This is because only when the L*
, a*
, and whiteness values satisfy the
predetermined electrode quality evaluation criteria ranges described above, can
20 excellent adhesion between a current collector and an active material layer be secured
after roll-pressing, and thus a defect rate of finished electrode products be significantly
reduced.
[38] An electrode which is classified as a good product as a result of the above25 described comparison because the measured color coordinate value satisfies the
9
predetermined electrode evaluation criterion may have excellent electrode quality after
roll-pressing. Specifically, an electrode classified as a good product according to the
electrode quality evaluation method of the present invention may exhibit excellent
adhesion between a current collector and an active material layer after roll-pressing.
5 For example, an adhesive strength of 40 gf/20 mm or more can be secured between a
current collector and an active material layer.
[39]
[40] A method of manufacturing an electrode according to the present invention
10 includes: forming an active material layer by applying a slurry including an active
material, a conductive material, and a binder onto a current collector and drying, and
thus manufacturing an electrode which has not been roll-pressed; evaluating the
quality of the electrode by the above-described method; and roll-pressing an electrode
evaluated as a good product.
15
[41] Hereinafter, each step of the method of manufacturing an electrode according
to the present invention will be described in more detail.
[42] Manufacture of electrode which has not been roll-pressed
20 [43] The present invention includes a step of forming an active material layer by
applying a slurry including an active material, a conductive material, and a binder onto
a current collector and drying, and thus manufacturing an electrode which has not been
roll-pressed. The active material layer may be formed on one or both sides of the
current collector.
25
10
[44] The current collector is not particularly limited as long as it does not cause a
chemical change in a battery and has conductivity, and in the case of a positive
electrode current collector, for example, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, titanium,
calcined carbon, aluminum or stainless steel whose surface has been treated with
5 carbon, nickel, titanium, silver, or the like may be used, and in the case of a negative
electrode current collector, for example, copper, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel,
titanium, calcined carbon, copper or stainless steel whose surface has been treated with
carbon, nickel, titanium, silver, or the like, an aluminum-cadmium alloy, or the like
may be used.
10 [45] The current collector may typically have a thickness of 3 μm to 500 μm and
may have fine irregularities formed in a surface thereof to increase the adhesion of a
positive electrode material or a negative electrode material. For example, the current
collector may be used in any of various forms such as a film, a sheet, a foil, a net, a
porous material, a foam, a non-woven fabric, and the like.
15
[46] The slurry may be prepared by dissolving or dispersing an active material, a
conductive material, and a binder in a solvent.
[47] When the active material is a positive electrode active material, the positive
electrode active material is a compound enabling the reversible intercalation and
20 deintercalation of lithium and, specifically, may include a lithium composite metal
oxide including lithium and one or more transition metals such as cobalt, manganese,
nickel, or aluminum. More specifically, the lithium composite metal oxide may be a
lithium-manganese-based oxide (e.g., LiMnO2, LiMn2O4, etc.), a lithium-cobalt-based
oxide (e.g., LiCoO2, etc.), a lithium-nickel-based oxide (e.g., LiNiO2, etc.), a lithium25 nickel-manganese-based oxide (e.g., LiNi1-YMnYO2 (0
Documents
Application Documents
| # |
Name |
Date |
| 1 |
202217055943.pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 2 |
202217055943-TRANSLATIOIN OF PRIOIRTY DOCUMENTS ETC. [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 3 |
202217055943-STATEMENT OF UNDERTAKING (FORM 3) [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 4 |
202217055943-PROOF OF RIGHT [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 5 |
202217055943-POWER OF AUTHORITY [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 6 |
202217055943-FORM 1 [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 7 |
202217055943-DECLARATION OF INVENTORSHIP (FORM 5) [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 8 |
202217055943-COMPLETE SPECIFICATION [29-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-29 |
| 9 |
202217055943-RELEVANT DOCUMENTS [30-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-30 |
| 10 |
202217055943-FORM 13 [30-09-2022(online)].pdf |
2022-09-30 |
| 11 |
202217055943-FORM 3 [02-03-2023(online)].pdf |
2023-03-02 |
| 12 |
202217055943-FORM 18 [27-10-2023(online)].pdf |
2023-10-27 |
| 13 |
202217055943-FER.pdf |
2025-10-29 |
Search Strategy
| 1 |
202217055943_SearchStrategyNew_E_SearchStrategyReportE_28-10-2025.pdf |