JP2009158415A - Positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, capable of sufficiently utilizing a high-capacity characteristic possessed by a negative electrode active material, and extending the life of the battery. <P>SOLUTION: This positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is formed of a lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by formula (1), and characterized by being used in combination with a negative electrode active material containing Si or Sn. Preferably, the compound represented by the formula (1) is formed of a solid solution represented by following formula (2): Li<SB>1+x</SB>(MnαCoβNiγ)<SB>1-x</SB>O<SB>2</SB>*aLi<SB>4/3</SB>Mn<SB>2/3</SB>O<SB>2</SB>(2). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a positive electrode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery such as a lithium secondary battery. The present invention also relates to a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery having the positive electrode active material.

  In general, graphite is used as a negative electrode active material of a lithium ion secondary battery. However, with the recent increase in functionality of electronic devices, their power consumption has increased remarkably, and the need for large-capacity secondary batteries is increasing. It is difficult to meet. Therefore, negative electrode active materials made of Sn-based materials and Si-based materials, which are materials having a higher capacity than graphite, have been actively developed.

  However, a negative electrode active material made of Sn-based material or Si-based material generally has a large irreversible capacity at the time of first charge. Therefore, in order to utilize the high capacity characteristics of these negative electrode active materials, it is necessary to use these negative electrode active materials in combination with a positive electrode active material having a high capacity and an appropriate irreversible capacity.

As a high-capacity positive electrode active material, a solid solution system material of Li ₂ MnO ₃ —LiMO ₂ (M is Ni, Co, etc.) has recently attracted attention (see Non-Patent Document 1). However, in this document, since the negative electrode material used in combination with this positive electrode material is metallic lithium, the above-described problem of irreversible capacity during the initial charge does not occur. Therefore, it is not clear from the description of the literature what effect is achieved when the positive electrode material described in the literature is used in combination with a negative electrode material made of an Sn-based material or an Si-based material.

Atsushi Ito, 2 others, Abstracts of the 48th Battery Discussion Meeting, Battery Technical Committee of the Electrochemical Society, November 9, 2007, p. 12

  An object of the present invention is to provide a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery that can fully utilize the high-capacity characteristics of a negative electrode active material made of a Sn-based material or a Si-based material.

  The present invention comprises a lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the following formula (1), and is used in combination with a negative electrode active material containing Si or Sn. An active material is provided.

  The present invention also includes a positive electrode having the positive electrode active material and a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material containing Si or Sn, and the active material layer of the negative electrode contains particles of an active material containing Si or Sn. And a non-aqueous electrolyte solution in which at least a part of the surface of the particle is coated with a metal material having a low lithium compound forming ability and a void is formed between the particles coated with the metal material. A secondary battery is provided.

  According to the positive electrode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery of the present invention, the high capacity characteristics of the negative electrode active material containing Si or Sn can be fully utilized. Further, a secondary battery using these active materials can have a long life.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments thereof. The nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery of the present invention (hereinafter also simply referred to as a secondary battery or a battery) has a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator disposed between them as its basic constituent members. The space between the positive electrode and the negative electrode is filled with a non-aqueous electrolyte via a separator. The battery of the present invention may be in the form of a cylindrical shape, a square shape, a coin shape or the like provided with these basic components. However, it is not limited to these forms.

The positive electrode used in the battery of the present invention has, for example, a positive electrode active material layer formed on at least one surface of a current collector. The positive electrode active material layer contains an active material. The active material used in the present invention is a specific lithium transition metal composite oxide. This compound is represented by the following formula (1). The compound represented by the formula (1) is composed of a single solid solution or composite of two types of lithium transition metal composite oxides. The two types of lithium transition metal composite oxides are LiMO ₂ (M = Mn, Co and Ni) and Li ₂ MnO ₃ . In addition, the composition of each element of the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) can be measured by ICP analysis.

When the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the above formula (1) is a single solid solution of two types of lithium transition metal composite oxide, the solid solution is represented by the following formula (2) It is preferable that
Li _{1 + x} (MnαCoβNiγ) _1-x O ₂ .aLi _4/3 Mn _2/3 O ₂ (2)
(Wherein a, α, β, γ and x are as defined above.)
Whether or not the compound represented by the formula (2) is composed of a single solid solution can be determined from the X-ray diffraction measurement of this compound.

  As a result of investigations by the present inventors, the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) is combined with Si or Sn, which is a negative electrode active material having a capacity higher than that of graphite, to constitute a battery. In addition, the inventors have found that the charge / discharge capacity is increased and the irreversible capacity at the first charge is increased by increasing the cut-off voltage of the charge compared to the conventional lithium secondary battery. As a result, the battery can have a high capacity and a long life. Details are as follows.

  In the present invention, by increasing the pre-charge cut-off voltage, a part of the crystal structure of the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1), which is the positive electrode active material, is changed and included therein. A part of lithium is supplied to the negative electrode active material. A part of the supplied lithium is accumulated in the negative electrode as an irreversible capacity. Therefore, charging / discharging after the preliminary charging is started from a state in which lithium is occluded in the negative electrode active material, so that charging / discharging after the preliminary charging is performed approximately 100% reversibly. The reason for this is that the site stably alloying with lithium in the negative electrode active material is preferentially used for occlusion of lithium in preliminary charging, so that lithium can be easily occluded and released during the second and subsequent charging. This is because lithium is occluded at the site. For these reasons, the battery life can be extended. Preliminary charging is charging performed for the first time after the battery is assembled, and is generally performed by a battery manufacturer before shipping the product to the market for the purpose of safety and operation check. In other words, lithium secondary batteries sold in the market are usually precharged already. Therefore, the first charge / discharge after the preliminary charge and the subsequent discharge after the preliminary charge corresponds to the first charge / discharge. In that sense, in the following description, “charge / discharge after discharge after preliminary charge” is referred to as “charge / discharge after first time”.

  The degree of irreversible capacity is the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode active material, which is the amount of lithium supplied from the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) that has accumulated in the negative electrode active material without returning to the positive electrode by discharge. The amount is preferably 9 to 50%, more preferably 9 to 40%, and particularly preferably 10 to 30%. By setting the upper limit of the amount of lithium accumulated in the negative electrode active material to 50% of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode active material, the capacity available for charge and discharge of the negative electrode active material after the first time is maintained, and the negative electrode A decrease in volume energy density due to expansion of the active material can be suppressed, and the energy density can be sufficiently increased as compared with a conventional negative electrode active material made of a carbon material. In particular, by setting the upper limit of the amount of lithium accumulated in the negative electrode active material to 30% of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode active material, it is released from the positive electrode active material during precharging in addition to the above-mentioned advantages related to energy density The balance between the amount of lithium to be transferred and the amount of lithium that reversibly moves between the positive and negative electrodes during charge and discharge after preliminary charging is improved. By taking this balance, the amount of lithium reversibly moved between the positive and negative electrodes during the first charge and discharge is sufficient. If a large amount of lithium is excessively applied to the negative electrode active material during preliminary charging, the amount of lithium that reversibly moves between the positive and negative electrodes during the first and subsequent charging / discharging tends to decrease. The irreversible capacity in the present invention refers to a capacity obtained by subtracting the capacity corresponding to the amount of lithium returning from the negative electrode to the positive electrode at the time of discharging following the preliminary charging from the capacity corresponding to the amount of lithium moving from the positive electrode to the negative electrode during the preliminary charging. .

In relation to the irreversible capacity, the amount of lithium supplied from the positive electrode to the negative electrode by precharging may be 50 to 90% of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode active material, taking into account the amount that returns to the positive electrode by discharging. preferable. The reason for this is that the sites for alloying with lithium in the negative electrode active material are likely to be formed throughout the active material by precharging, and the entire negative electrode active material, and thus the negative electrode active material layer, in the first and subsequent charging. This is because the entire region can be easily occluded with lithium. The theoretical capacity of the negative electrode in the present invention is a discharge capacity obtained when a bipolar battery having lithium as a counter electrode is produced, and the bipolar battery is charged to 0.01V and then discharged to 1.5V. . From the viewpoint of improving reproducibility when measuring the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode active material, the above-described charging adopts the constant current mode and the rate of 0.05 C, and when the cell voltage reaches 0.01 V. It is preferable to switch to the constant voltage mode and perform charging until the current value decreases to 1/5 of that in the constant current mode. From the same viewpoint, it is preferable to adopt a constant current mode and a rate of 0.05 C as the discharge conditions. In relation to the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode, the substantial discharge capacity of the positive electrode is a value measured by the following method. That is, a coin battery is manufactured by the method described in the Example using the positive electrode manufactured by the method described in Example 1 described later and the negative electrode using Si alone as an active material. The charge / discharge conditions are as follows, and the obtained discharge capacity is defined as the substantial discharge capacity of the positive electrode. Note that the form of Si in the negative electrode of Si alone (for example, the form of particles, the form of thin film, or the form of particles covering the surface of the particles with an inactive metal component, etc.) does not affect the measurement results. The present inventors have confirmed that.
Preliminary charge: After charging to 4.5 V with a constant current of 0.01 C (100 hour rate), the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.5 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the previous constant current value.
Discharge after precharge: When 2.7V is reached at a constant current of 0.1 C (10 hour rate), the process ends.
Initial charge: After charging to 4.2 V with a constant current of 0.1 C (10 hour rate), the voltage is changed from 4.2 V to a constant potential, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the previous constant current value.
Initial discharge: When 2.7 V is reached at a constant current of 0.1 C (10 hour rate), the discharge is completed.
The reason for defining the initial discharge capacity as the substantial discharge capacity is to reflect the irreversible capacity lost in the preliminary charge and the subsequent discharge. Note that the preliminary charging is charging performed only after the battery is assembled.

  Accumulating a part of lithium in the negative electrode active material as an irreversible capacity also has the following advantages. That is, at each discharge after the precharge, lithium is always occluded in the negative electrode active material, so that its ionic conductivity and electronic conductivity are always in good condition, and the negative electrode polarization is small. Become. This makes it difficult for the voltage of the negative electrode to rapidly decrease at the end of discharge. This is particularly advantageous when a Si-based material, particularly a simple substance of Si, is used as the negative electrode active material.

Regarding the accumulation of a part of lithium in the negative electrode active material as an irreversible capacity, the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) is used only after assembling a secondary battery using Si alone as the negative electrode active material. The ratio of the irreversible capacity accumulated in the negative electrode when the precharge, which is the charge to be performed, under the following conditions and the discharge capacity when the initial charge / discharge performed after the precharge is performed under the following conditions (the former / the latter) Is preferably from 0.15 to 0.55, particularly from 0.25 to 0.45, particularly from 0.35 to 0.45, from the viewpoint of increasing the capacity of the battery and improving the cycle characteristics.
・ Preliminary charging:
After charging to 4.5 V with a constant current of 0.01 C (100 hour rate), the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.5 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the previous constant current value.
・ Discharge after pre-charging:
It ends when it reaches 2.7V at a constant current of 0.1C (10 hour rate).
・ First charge:
After charging to 4.2 V with a constant current of 0.1 C (10 hour rate), the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.2 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the previous constant current value.
・ First discharge:
It ends when it reaches 2.7V at a constant current of 0.1C (10 hour rate).

  In addition, the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) uses Si alone as a negative electrode active material, assembles a secondary battery, and performs initial charge when precharge and initial charge / discharge are performed under the above conditions. The capacity is preferably 150 mAh or more, particularly 160 mAh or more per weight (g) of the positive electrode active material, from the viewpoint of increasing the capacity of the battery.

In order to set the ratio of the irreversible capacity accumulated in the negative electrode and the initial discharge capacity by the above-described precharge and the initial discharge capacity itself to the above values, the lithium transition represented by the formula (1) as described later It is only necessary to adjust the crystallite size appropriately by performing the synthesis conditions of the metal composite oxide, for example, by increasing the reactivity by reducing the particle size of the raw material, or by increasing the firing temperature and causing grain growth. . Furthermore, what is necessary is just to control appropriately the particle size and shape of lithium transition metal complex oxide represented by Formula (1). The particle size (D ₅₀ ) of the positive electrode active material is preferably 50 μm or less, and particularly preferably 30 μm or less. By reducing the particle size, the specific surface area increases and the rate characteristics tend to improve. However, on the other hand, the high-temperature storage characteristics and density tend to decrease, and it is necessary to control the particle size to an optimum value according to the use of the battery.

The lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1), which is a positive electrode active material, breaks down in the crystal structure even when the cut-off voltage of charge is increased as compared with a conventional positive electrode active material such as LiCoO _2. It is a material that is difficult to be used (this is also called “high withstand voltage”). In LiCoO ₂ which is a general positive electrode active material, when such an operation for increasing the cut-off voltage of charging is performed, the crystal structure collapses due to release of oxygen or the like from the crystal when lithium of a certain amount or more is released. The detailed mechanism of the cause of the high withstand voltage of the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) is currently being elucidated. However, the structural stabilization due to rearrangement of cations in the crystal has occurred. The inventors are thinking. Therefore, the secondary battery of the present invention can increase the cut-off voltage of charging compared to the conventional battery, and the charge and discharge after the first time are performed reversibly almost 100%. The ability to increase the charge cut-off voltage is extremely advantageous in that the battery can have a high capacity. In addition, as long as there exists an effect of this invention, it is not prevented that an inevitable impurity is contained in the lithium transition metal complex oxide represented by Formula (1).

In order to make the secondary battery of the present invention have a high capacity and a long life, it is preferable to adjust the precharging and the charging conditions after the first time. Regarding the precharge, it is preferable to set the cut-off potential to be high and accumulate lithium released from the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) as an irreversible capacity in the negative electrode active material. From this point of view, the precharge cutoff potential is preferably set to 4.4 V or higher with respect to Li / Li ⁺ , particularly 4.4 to 5.0 V, particularly 4.5 to 5.0 V. It is preferable to do. When the pre-charge cut-off potential is set to less than 4.4 V, the effect of accumulating lithium as an irreversible capacity in the negative electrode active material becomes insufficient.

In preliminary charging, which is charging performed for the first time after assembling the secondary battery of the present invention, the cut-off voltage is preferably set higher than the cut-off voltage for charging after the preliminary charging. In other words, it is preferable that the cut-off voltage in the first and subsequent charging is set lower than the cut-off voltage in the preliminary charging. However, if the cut-off voltage is too low, charging and discharging are performed under the same conditions as those of a lithium secondary battery using a conventional positive electrode active material, and the lithium transition metal composite oxidation represented by the formula (1) is performed. You will not be able to make full use of the benefits of using things. On the other hand, if the cut-off voltage is too high, the non-aqueous electrolyte tends to decompose. Therefore, the cut-off potential in the first and subsequent charging is preferably 4.3 to 5.0 V, particularly 4.35 to 4.55 V, based on Li / Li ⁺ . In addition, the working voltage range of the lithium secondary battery used conventionally is 3-4.3V. Since application of a voltage higher than this destroys the crystal structure of the positive electrode active material, lithium secondary battery manufacturers strictly control the voltage by providing a protection circuit for the battery. Therefore, a person skilled in the art usually does not employ a high voltage for improving the cycle characteristics.

  In particular, the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode is 1.1 to 3.0 times, particularly 2.0 to 3.0 times the capacity of the positive electrode at the cut-off voltage of the first and subsequent charging (hereinafter, this value is referred to as the positive / negative capacity ratio). The amount of each positive and negative active material to be used is set so that the precharge is higher than the cut-off voltage of the first and subsequent charges, so that When preliminary charging is performed so that lithium of 50 to 90% of the capacity is supplied from the positive electrode to the negative electrode, there is an advantage that the entire negative electrode is activated. This advantage is unique when a negative electrode containing Si or Sn is used as the negative electrode active material. Further, by such preliminary charging, lithium supplied from the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) as described above is accumulated in the negative electrode as an irreversible capacity, and thus the advantages as described above are generated. . By setting the positive / negative electrode capacity ratio to be 1.1 times or more, the generation of lithium dendrites is prevented, and the safety of the battery is ensured. In particular, by setting the positive / negative electrode capacity ratio to be 2.0 times or more, it is possible to ensure a sufficient capacity maintenance rate. Moreover, the capacity | capacitance of a negative electrode can fully be utilized by making positive / negative electrode capacity ratio 3.0 times or less, and the energy density of a battery can be improved.

  When the positive / negative electrode capacity ratio is set as described above and the pre-charging is performed under the above-described conditions, the charge / discharge after the initial charge is determined based on the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode at the charge cut-off voltage. It is preferable to carry out within a range of 0 to 90%, preferably 10 to 80%. That is, charging / discharging is preferably performed within the range (for example, in the range of 20 to 60%) with upper and lower limits being 0% and 90% of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode. In addition, by performing charging up to 90% of the capacity of the negative electrode, excessive expansion of the active material can be suppressed, and cycle characteristics can be improved. In the present invention, since the definition of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode is as described above, the point of 0% in the charge / discharge range is the discharge end point in the measurement of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode.

  In charging, it is preferable to adopt a constant current control method or a constant current constant voltage control method as in the case of a conventional lithium secondary battery. Alternatively, a constant current / constant voltage control method may be adopted for the preliminary charging, and a constant current control method may be adopted for the first and subsequent charging.

  Unlike the charging condition, the discharging condition of the secondary battery of the present invention does not critically affect the performance of the battery, and the same condition as that of the conventional lithium secondary battery can be adopted. Specifically, the cut-off voltage of discharge in the secondary battery is preferably 2.0 to 3.5 V, particularly 2.5 to 3.0 V.

  From the viewpoint of making the advantageous effects of the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) described above more remarkable, in the formula (1), a is 0.1 ≦ a ≦ 0.4. Preferably there is. x is preferably 0 ≦ x ≦ 0.15, particularly preferably 0.01 ≦ x ≦ 0.10. α is preferably 0.01 <α <0.50, particularly preferably 0.15 <α <0.40. β is preferably 0 <β <0.50, particularly preferably 0.01 <β <0.30. γ is preferably 0.30 ≦ γ ≦ 0.80, particularly preferably 0.40 ≦ γ ≦ 0.65. If a is too large, the actual discharge capacity decreases, and if it is too small, the precharge amount is insufficient. If x is negative, Li will escape from the structure during preliminary charging than when x is positive, which may lead to deterioration in cycle characteristics. Further, if x is excessive, not only the substantial discharge capacity is reduced, but also gelation of the paste due to the increase in pH occurs during coating. By controlling the ratio of α, β, and γ to the above composition, it is possible to achieve high capacity, good cycle characteristics, and safety. In the formula (1), a, x, α, β, and γ each represent a molar ratio.

  In the formula (1), the atomic ratio of the oxygen amount is described as “2” for convenience, but may have some non-stoichiometry.

The lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) is suitably produced by, for example, the following method. A lithium salt compound, a manganese salt compound, a nickel salt compound, and a cobalt salt compound are used as raw materials. These are mixed at a predetermined ratio, dispersed in water, and pulverized with a wet pulverizer or the like until the average particle size (D ₅₀ ) is 2 μm or less. Thereafter, it is granulated and dried using a thermal spray dryer or the like, and is preferably fired in the air or in an oxygen atmosphere at 700 to 1100 ° C., more preferably 800 to 950 ° C., and classified as necessary. it can. However, the method for producing the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) is not limited to such a method. For example, a transition metal composite hydroxide can be produced by a coprecipitation method, mixed with a lithium salt compound, fired, and classified as necessary.

  Examples of the lithium salt compound include lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, lithium nitrate, and lithium oxide. Of these, lithium hydroxide, carbonate and nitrate are preferred. The manganese salt compound is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include manganese carbonate, manganese nitrate, manganese dioxide, and manganese chloride. The nickel salt compound is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include nickel carbonate, nickel nitrate, nickel chloride, nickel oxyhydroxide, nickel hydroxide, and nickel oxide. The cobalt salt compound is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include basic cobalt carbonate, cobalt nitrate, cobalt chloride, cobalt oxyhydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, and cobalt oxide.

In the positive electrode used in the secondary battery of the present invention, only the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) may be used as the active material, or the lithium transition metal represented by the formula (1). In addition to the composite oxide, other positive electrode active materials may be used in combination. Examples of other positive electrode active materials include lithium transition metal composite oxides other than the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) (LiCoO ₂ , LiNiO ₂ , LiMn ₂ O ₄ , LiCo _1/3 Ni _{1 / 3} Mn _1/3 O ₂ etc.). The amount of the other positive electrode active material used in combination can be about 50% by weight or less based on the weight of the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1).

  In the positive electrode used in the secondary battery of the present invention, the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) is suspended in a suitable solvent together with a conductive agent such as acetylene black and a binder such as polyvinylidene fluoride. It is obtained by preparing a positive electrode mixture, applying it to at least one surface of a current collector made of aluminum foil or the like, drying it, and then rolling and pressing.

  The negative electrode used in the secondary battery of the present invention is formed, for example, by forming a negative electrode active material layer on at least one surface of a current collector. The negative electrode active material layer contains an active material. The active material used in the present invention is a material containing Si or Sn.

  The negative electrode active material containing Si is capable of occluding and releasing lithium ions. For example, silicon alone, an alloy of silicon and metal, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon boride and the like can be used. These materials can be used alone or in combination. Examples of the metal used in the alloy include one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ni, Co, Cr, Fe, Ti, Pt, W, Mo, and Au. Among these metals, Cu, Ni, and Co are preferable, and Cu and Ni are preferably used from the viewpoint of excellent electronic conductivity and a low ability to form a lithium compound. Further, lithium may be occluded in the negative electrode active material containing Si before or after the negative electrode is incorporated in the battery. A particularly preferable negative electrode active material containing Si is silicon alone or silicon oxide from the viewpoint of high lithium storage capacity.

  On the other hand, as an example of the negative electrode active material containing Sn, tin alone, an alloy of tin and metal, or the like can be used. These materials can be used alone or in combination. Examples of the metal that forms an alloy with tin include one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ni, Co, Cr, Fe, Ti, Pt, W, Mo, and Au. Of these metals, Cu, Ni, and Co are preferable. An example of the alloy is a Sn—Co—C alloy.

  The negative electrode active material layer can be, for example, a continuous thin film layer made of the negative electrode active material. In this case, the negative electrode active material layer made of a thin film is formed on at least one surface of the current collector by various thin film forming means such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, and sputtering. The thin film may be etched to form a large number of voids extending in the thickness direction. In addition to the wet etching method using a sodium hydroxide aqueous solution or the like, a dry etching method using a dry gas or plasma can be employed for the etching. In addition to the form of the continuous thin film layer, the negative electrode active material layer may be a coating layer containing particles of the negative electrode active material, a sintered body layer containing particles of the negative electrode active material, or the like. Moreover, it may be a layer having a structure shown in FIG.

  The negative electrode active material layer includes particles of an active material containing Si or Sn, and particles of a conductive carbon material or a metal material, and these particles may be in a mixed state in the active material layer. For example, silicon single particles or silicon oxide particles can be mixed with conductive carbon material particles or metal material particles.

  As the separator in the secondary battery of the present invention, a synthetic resin nonwoven fabric, a polyolefin such as polyethylene or polypropylene, or a polytetrafluoroethylene porous film is preferably used. From the viewpoint of suppressing the heat generation of the electrode that occurs when the battery is overcharged, it is preferable to use a separator in which a thin film of a ferrocene derivative is formed on one side or both sides of a polyolefin microporous membrane. The separator preferably has a puncture strength of 0.2 N / μm thickness or more and 0.49 N / μm thickness or less, and a tensile strength in the winding axis direction of 40 MPa or more and 150 MPa or less. This is because even if a Si-based or Sn-based material, which is a negative electrode active material that expands and contracts greatly with charge and discharge, can be used to suppress damage to the separator and suppress the occurrence of internal short circuits.

The nonaqueous electrolytic solution is a solution in which a lithium salt as a supporting electrolyte is dissolved in an organic solvent. The lithium _{salt, CF 3 SO 3 Li, (} CF 3 SO 2) NLi, (C 2 F 5 SO 2) 2 NLi, LiClO 4, LiA1Cl 4, LiPF 6, LiAsF 6, LiSbF 6, LiCl, LiBr, LiI And LiC ₄ F ₉ SO ₃ . These can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Of these lithium salts, CF ₃ SO ₃ Li, (CF ₃ SO ₂ ) NLi, and (C ₂ F ₅ SO ₂ ) ₂ NLi are preferably used because of their excellent water decomposition resistance. Examples of the organic solvent include ethylene carbonate, diethyl carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, propylene carbonate, butylene carbonate, and the like. In particular, 0.5 to 5% by weight of vinylene carbonate and 0.1 to 1% by weight of divinyl sulfone and 0.1 to 1.5% by weight of 1,4-butanediol dimethanesulfonate with respect to the whole non-aqueous electrolyte It is preferable from the viewpoint of further improving the charge / discharge cycle characteristics. The details are not clear, but 1,4-butanediol dimethanesulfonate and divinylsulfone are decomposed stepwise to form a film on the positive electrode, so that the film containing sulfur becomes denser. It is thought that it is to become.

  Especially as a non-aqueous electrolyte, 4-fluoro-1,3-dioxolan-2-one, 4-chloro-1,3-dioxolan-2-one or 4-trifluoromethyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-one It is also preferable to use a high dielectric constant solvent having a relative dielectric constant of 30 or more, such as a cyclic carbonate derivative having a halogen atom. This is because it has high resistance to reduction and is not easily decomposed. Further, an electrolytic solution in which the high dielectric constant solvent is mixed with a low viscosity solvent having a viscosity of 1 mPa · s or less such as dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, or methyl ethyl carbonate is also preferable. This is because higher ionic conductivity can be obtained. Furthermore, it is also preferable that the content of fluorine ions in the electrolytic solution is in the range of 14 mass ppm to 1290 mass ppm. This is because, when an appropriate amount of fluorine ions is contained in the electrolytic solution, a coating film such as lithium fluoride derived from fluorine ions is formed on the negative electrode, and it is considered that the decomposition reaction of the electrolytic solution in the negative electrode can be suppressed. . Furthermore, it is preferable that at least one additive selected from the group consisting of acid anhydrides and derivatives thereof is contained in an amount of 0.001 wt% to 10 wt%. This is because a film is formed on the surface of the negative electrode, and the decomposition reaction of the electrolytic solution can be suppressed. As this additive, a cyclic compound containing a —C (═O) —O—C (═O) — group in the ring is preferable. For example, succinic anhydride, glutaric anhydride, maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, 2-sulfobenzoic anhydride, citraconic anhydride, itaconic anhydride, diglycolic anhydride, hexafluoroglutaric anhydride, 3-fluorophthalic anhydride, Phthalic anhydride derivatives such as 4-fluorophthalic anhydride, or 3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, 1,8-naphthalic anhydride, 2,3-naphthalenecarboxylic anhydride, 1,2-cyclopentanedicarboxylic anhydride, 1,2-cycloalkanedicarboxylic anhydride such as 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, or cis-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride or 3,4, Tetrahydrophthalic anhydride such as 5,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, or hexahydrophthalic anhydride (cis isomerism) , Trans isomer), 3,4,5,6-tetrachlorophthalic acid anhydride, 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic acid anhydride, pyromellitic dianhydride, or derivatives thereof.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a preferred embodiment of a negative electrode used in the present invention. When the negative electrode of the embodiment shown in the figure is used in combination with the positive electrode containing the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) described so far, the capacity of the battery is increased. And, as a result of the examination by the present inventors, it has been found that it has an advantage that the cycle characteristics become extremely good. Moreover, it turned out that it has the advantage that the rate characteristic of a battery when charging / discharging at low temperature becomes favorable. The favorable rate characteristic at low temperature means that, for example, the battery of the present invention is particularly effective when used as a vehicle-mounted battery such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. The negative electrode 10 of this embodiment includes a current collector 11 and an active material layer 12 formed on at least one surface thereof. 1 shows a state in which the active material layer 12 is formed only on one side of the current collector 11 for convenience, the active material layer may be formed on both sides of the current collector. .

  In the active material layer 12, at least a part of the surface of the active material particles 12 a containing Si is covered with a metal material having a low lithium compound forming ability. The metal material 13 is a material different from the constituent material of the particles 12a. Gaps are formed between the particles 12a coated with the metal material. That is, the metal material covers the surface of the particle 12a in a state in which a gap is ensured so that the non-aqueous electrolyte containing lithium ions can reach the particle 12a. In FIG. 1, the metal material 13 is conveniently represented as a thick line surrounding the periphery of the particle 12a. Each particle is in direct contact with other particles or through the metal material 13. “Low lithium compound forming ability” means that lithium does not form an intermetallic compound or solid solution, or even if formed, lithium is in a very small amount or very unstable.

  The metal material 13 has conductivity, and examples thereof include copper, nickel, iron, cobalt, and alloys of these metals. In particular, the metal material 13 is preferably a highly ductile material in which even if the active material particles 12a expand and contract, the coating on the surface of the particles 12a is not easily broken. It is preferable to use copper as such a material.

  The metal material 13 is preferably present on the surface of the active material particles 12 a over the entire thickness direction of the active material layer 12. The active material particles 12 a are preferably present in the matrix of the metal material 13. Thus, even if the particles 12a are pulverized due to expansion and contraction due to charge / discharge, the particles are less likely to fall off. In addition, since the electronic conductivity of the entire active material layer 12 is ensured through the metal material 13, the electrically isolated active material particles 12 a are generated, and in particular, the electrically isolated active material is deep in the active material layer 12. Generation of the particles 12a of the substance is effectively prevented. The presence of the metal material 13 on the surface of the active material particles 12a over the entire thickness direction of the active material layer 12 can be confirmed by electron microscope mapping using the material 13 as a measurement target.

  The metal material 13 coats the surface of the particle 12a continuously or discontinuously. When the metal material 13 continuously covers the surfaces of the particles 12a, it is preferable to form fine voids in the coating of the metal material 13 that allow the non-aqueous electrolyte to flow. When the metal material 13 discontinuously coats the surface of the particle 12a, the non-aqueous electrolyte is supplied to the particle 12a through a portion of the surface of the particle 12a that is not covered with the metal material 13. In order to form the coating of the metal material 13 having such a structure, the metal material 13 may be deposited on the surfaces of the particles 12a by, for example, electrolytic plating in accordance with conditions described later.

  The average thickness of the metal material 13 covering the surface of the active material particles 12a is preferably 0.05 to 2 μm, more preferably 0.1 to 0.25 μm. That is, the metal material 13 covers the surface of the active material particles 12a with a minimum thickness. As a result, while the energy density is increased, the particles 12a are prevented from falling off due to expansion / contraction and pulverization due to charge / discharge. Here, the “average thickness” is a value calculated based on a portion of the surface of the active material particle 12 a that is actually covered with the metal material 13. Accordingly, the portion of the surface of the active material particle 12a that is not covered with the metal material 13 is not used as the basis for calculating the average value.

  The voids formed between the particles 12a coated with the metal material 13 have a function as a flow path of the non-aqueous electrolyte containing lithium ions. Since the non-aqueous electrolyte smoothly flows in the thickness direction of the active material layer 12 due to the presence of the voids, cycle characteristics can be improved. Further, the voids formed between the particles 12a also have a function as a space for relieving stress caused by the volume change of the active material particles 12a due to charge and discharge. The increase in the volume of the active material particles 12a whose volume has been increased by charging is absorbed by the voids. As a result, pulverization of the particles 12a is difficult to occur, and significant deformation of the negative electrode 10 is effectively prevented.

  As described later, the active material layer 12 is preferably electrolyzed using a predetermined plating bath on a coating film obtained by applying a slurry containing particles 12a and a binder onto a current collector and drying the slurry. It forms by plating and depositing the metal material 13 between the particle | grains 12a.

  In order to form necessary and sufficient voids in the active material layer 12 in which the non-aqueous electrolyte can be circulated, it is preferable to sufficiently infiltrate the plating solution into the coating film. In addition to this, it is preferable to make conditions suitable for depositing the metal material 13 by electrolytic plating using the plating solution. The plating conditions include the composition of the plating bath, the pH of the plating bath, and the current density of electrolysis. Regarding the pH of the plating bath, it is preferable to adjust this to 7.1-11. By controlling the pH within this range, the dissolution of the active material particles 12a is suppressed, the surface of the particles 12a is cleaned, and plating on the particle surface is promoted. Is formed. The value of pH is measured at the temperature at the time of plating.

When using copper as the metal material 13 for plating, it is preferable to use a copper pyrophosphate bath. When nickel is used as the metal material, for example, an alkaline nickel bath is preferably used. In particular, it is preferable to use a copper pyrophosphate bath, even if the active material layer 12 is thick, because the voids can be easily formed over the entire thickness direction of the layer. Further, since the metal material 13 is deposited on the surface of the active material particles 12a and the metal material 13 is less likely to be deposited between the particles 12a, the voids between the particles 12a are also successfully formed. preferable. When using a copper pyrophosphate bath, the bath composition, electrolysis conditions and pH are preferably as follows.
Copper pyrophosphate trihydrate: 85-120 g / l
-Potassium pyrophosphate: 300-600 g / l
-Potassium nitrate: 15-65 g / l
-Bath temperature: 45-60 ° C
・ Current density: 1 to 7 A / dm ²
PH: Ammonia water and polyphosphoric acid are added to adjust the pH to 7.1 to 9.5.

In particular, the use of those P ratio defined by the ratio of the weight of the weight and Cu of _{P 2 O 7 (P 2 O} 7 / Cu) is 5 to 12 preferred in the case of using the copper pyrophosphate bath . When the P ratio is less than 5, the metal material 13 covering the active material particles 12a tends to be thick, and it may be difficult to form desired voids between the particles 12a. Further, when a P ratio exceeding 12 is used, current efficiency is deteriorated, and gas generation is likely to occur, so that production stability may be lowered. When a copper pyrophosphate bath having a P ratio of 6.5 to 10.5 is used as a more preferable copper pyrophosphate bath, the size and number of voids formed between the active material particles 12a may be reduced. This is very advantageous for the flow of the water electrolyte.

When an alkaline nickel bath is used, the bath composition, electrolysis conditions and pH are preferably as follows.
Nickel sulfate: 100 to 250 g / l
Ammonium chloride: 15-30 g / l
・ Boric acid: 15-45 g / l
-Bath temperature: 45-60 ° C
・ Current density: 1 to 7 A / dm ²
-PH: 25% by weight ammonia water: Adjust to pH 8-11 within the range of 100-300 g / l.
When this alkaline nickel bath and the above-described copper pyrophosphate bath are compared, there is a tendency that moderate voids are formed in the active material layer 12 when the copper pyrophosphate bath is used, and the life of the negative electrode is increased. It is preferable because it is easy to achieve.

  The characteristics of the metal material 13 can be appropriately adjusted by adding various additives used in the electrolytic solution for producing copper foil such as protein, active sulfur compound, and cellulose to the above various plating baths.

  The ratio of the voids in the entire active material layer formed by the various methods described above, that is, the void ratio is preferably about 15 to 45% by volume, particularly about 20 to 40% by volume. By setting the porosity within this range, it is possible to form necessary and sufficient voids in the active material layer 12 in which the non-aqueous electrolyte can flow. The void amount of the active material layer 12 is measured by a mercury intrusion method (JIS R 1655). The mercury intrusion method is a method for obtaining information on the physical shape of a solid by measuring the size and volume of pores in the solid. The principle of the mercury intrusion method is to apply a pressure to mercury to inject it into the pores of the object to be measured, and measure the relationship between the pressure applied at that time and the volume of mercury that has been pushed in (intruded). In this case, mercury enters sequentially from the large voids present in the active material layer 12. In the present invention, the void amount measured at a pressure of 90 MPa is regarded as the entire void amount. The porosity (%) of the active material layer 12 is obtained by dividing the void amount per unit area measured by the above method by the apparent volume of the active material layer 12 per unit area and multiplying it by 100. .

  In the negative electrode 10 of the present embodiment, the porosity calculated from the void amount of the active material layer 12 measured by the mercury intrusion method was within the above range, and was measured by the mercury intrusion method at 10 MPa. The porosity calculated from the void amount of the active material layer 12 is preferably 10 to 40%. Moreover, it is preferable that the porosity calculated from the void amount of the active material layer 12 measured by the mercury intrusion method at 1 MPa is 0.5 to 15%. Furthermore, it is preferable that the porosity calculated from the void amount of the active material layer 12 measured by the mercury intrusion method at 5 MPa is 1 to 35%. As described above, in the mercury intrusion measurement, mercury intrusion conditions are gradually increased. Under low pressure conditions, mercury is pressed into large gaps, and under high pressure conditions, mercury is pressed into small gaps. Therefore, the porosity measured at a pressure of 1 MPa is mainly derived from large voids. On the other hand, the porosity measured at a pressure of 10 MPa reflects the presence of small voids.

  The large voids described above are mainly derived from the spaces between the active material particles 12a. On the other hand, the above-mentioned small voids are considered to originate mainly from the space between the crystal grains of the metal material 13 deposited on the surfaces of the active material particles 12a. The large void mainly functions as a space for relieving stress caused by expansion and contraction of the active material particles 12a. On the other hand, the small gap mainly serves as a path for supplying the non-aqueous electrolyte to the active material particles 12a. By balancing the abundance of these large voids and small voids, the cycle characteristics are further improved.

The porosity can also be controlled by appropriately selecting the particle size of the active material particles 12a. From this viewpoint, the particle 12a has a maximum particle size of preferably 30 μm or less, more preferably 10 μm or less. Moreover, when the particle diameter of the particle is expressed by a D ₅₀ value, it is preferably 0.1 to 8 μm, particularly preferably 0.3 to 4 μm. The particle size of the particles is measured by laser diffraction / scattering particle size distribution measurement and electron microscope observation (SEM observation).

  If the amount of the active material relative to the whole negative electrode is too small, it is difficult to sufficiently improve the energy density of the battery. Conversely, if the amount is too large, the strength decreases and the active material tends to fall off. Considering these, the thickness of the active material layer is preferably 10 to 40 μm, more preferably 15 to 30 μm, and still more preferably 18 to 25 μm.

  In the negative electrode 10 of the present embodiment, a thin surface layer (not shown) may be formed on the surface of the active material layer 12. Further, the negative electrode 10 may not have such a surface layer. The thickness of the surface layer is 0.25 μm or less, preferably 0.1 μm or less. There is no restriction | limiting in the lower limit of the thickness of a surface layer. By forming the surface layer, the pulverized active material particles 12a can be further prevented from falling off. However, in the present embodiment, by setting the porosity of the active material layer 12 within the above-described range, it is possible to sufficiently prevent the pulverized active material particles 12a from dropping without using a surface layer. Is possible.

  When the negative electrode 10 has the thin surface layer or does not have the surface layer, a secondary battery is assembled using the negative electrode 10 to reduce the overvoltage when the battery is initially charged. Can do. This means that lithium can be prevented from being reduced on the surface of the negative electrode 10 when the secondary battery is charged. The reduction of lithium leads to the generation of dendrites that cause a short circuit between the two electrodes.

  When the negative electrode 10 has a surface layer, the surface layer covers the surface of the active material layer 12 continuously or discontinuously. When the surface layer continuously covers the surface of the active material layer 12, the surface layer has a large number of fine voids (not shown) that are open in the surface and communicate with the active material layer 12. It is preferable. The fine voids are preferably present in the surface layer so as to extend in the thickness direction of the surface layer. The fine voids allow the non-aqueous electrolyte to flow. The role of the fine voids is to supply a non-aqueous electrolyte into the active material layer 12. When the surface of the negative electrode 10 is viewed in plan by electron microscope observation, the fine voids are such that the ratio of the area covered with the metal material 13, that is, the coverage is 95% or less, particularly 80% or less, especially 60% or less. It is preferable that the size is large. When the coverage exceeds 95%, it is difficult for the non-aqueous electrolyte having high viscosity to enter, and the range of selection of the non-aqueous electrolyte may be narrowed.

  The surface layer is made of a metal material having a low lithium compound forming ability. This metal material may be the same as or different from the metal material 13 present in the active material layer 12. The surface layer may have a structure of two or more layers made of two or more different metal materials. Considering the ease of manufacture of the negative electrode 10, the metal material 13 present in the active material layer 12 and the metal material constituting the surface layer are preferably the same type.

  Since the porosity in the active material layer 12 has a high value, the negative electrode 10 of this embodiment has high resistance to bending. Specifically, the MIT folding resistance measured according to JIS C 6471 is preferably 30 times or more, more preferably 50 times or more. High folding resistance is extremely advantageous since the negative electrode 10 is less likely to be folded when the negative electrode 10 is folded or wound and accommodated in a battery container. As the MIT folding endurance device, for example, a film folding endurance fatigue tester (product number 549) manufactured by Toyo Seiki Seisakusho is used, and measurement can be performed with a bending radius of 0.8 mm, a load of 0.5 kgf, and a sample size of 15 × 150 mm. it can.

  As the current collector 11 in the negative electrode 10, the same one as conventionally used as the current collector of the negative electrode for the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery can be used. The current collector 11 is preferably made of a metal material having a low lithium compound forming ability as described above. Examples of such metal materials are as already described. In particular, it is preferably made of copper, nickel, stainless steel or the like. Also, it is possible to use a copper alloy foil represented by a Corson alloy foil. Further, as the current collector, a metal foil having a normal tensile strength (JIS C 2318) of preferably 500 MPa or more, for example, a copper film layer formed on at least one surface of the aforementioned Corson alloy foil can be used. Furthermore, it is preferable to use a current collector having a normal elongation (JIS C 2318) of 4% or more. This is because when the tensile strength is low, wrinkles are generated due to stress when the active material expands, and when the elongation is low, the current collector may crack. By using these current collectors, it is possible to further improve the folding resistance of the negative electrode 10 described above. The thickness of the current collector 11 is preferably 9 to 35 μm considering the balance between maintaining the strength of the negative electrode 10 and improving the energy density. In addition, when using copper foil as the electrical power collector 11, it is preferable to give the rust prevention process using organic compounds, such as a chromate process and a triazole type compound and an imidazole type compound.

  Next, the preferable manufacturing method of the negative electrode 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated, referring FIG. In this manufacturing method, a coating film is formed on the current collector 11 using a slurry containing particles of an active material and a binder, and then electrolytic plating is performed on the coating film.

  First, a current collector 11 is prepared as shown in FIG. Then, a slurry containing active material particles 12 a is applied onto the current collector 11 to form a coating film 15. The surface roughness of the coating film forming surface of the current collector 11 is preferably 0.5 to 4 μm at the maximum height of the contour curve. If the maximum height exceeds 4 μm, the formation accuracy of the coating film 15 is lowered and current concentration of the permeation plating tends to occur on the convex portions. When the maximum height is less than 0.5 μm, the adhesion of the active material layer 12 tends to be lowered. As the active material particles 12a, those having the above-described particle size distribution and average particle size are preferably used.

  The slurry contains a binder and a diluting solvent in addition to the active material particles. The slurry may contain a small amount of conductive carbon material particles such as acetylene black and graphite. In particular, when the active material particles 12a are made of a silicon-based material, the conductive carbon material is preferably contained in an amount of 1 to 3% by weight based on the weight of the active material particles 12a. When the content of the conductive carbon material is less than 1% by weight, the viscosity of the slurry is lowered and the sedimentation of the active material particles 12a is promoted, so that it is difficult to form a good coating film 15 and uniform voids. . On the other hand, if the content of the conductive carbon material exceeds 3% by weight, plating nuclei concentrate on the surface of the conductive carbon material, and it becomes difficult to form a good coating.

  As the binder, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethylene (PE), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), or the like is used. As a diluting solvent, N-methylpyrrolidone, cyclohexane or the like is used. The amount of the active material particles 12a in the slurry is preferably about 30 to 70% by weight. The amount of the binder is preferably about 0.4 to 4% by weight. A dilution solvent is added to these to form a slurry.

  The formed coating film 15 has a large number of minute spaces between the particles 12a. The current collector 11 on which the coating film 15 is formed is immersed in a plating bath containing a metal material having a low lithium compound forming ability. By immersion in the plating bath, the plating solution enters the minute space in the coating film 15 and reaches the interface between the coating film 15 and the current collector 11. Under this condition, electrolytic plating is performed to deposit plating metal species on the surfaces of the particles 12a (hereinafter, this plating is also referred to as permeation plating). The osmotic plating is performed by using the current collector 11 as a cathode, immersing a counter electrode as an anode in a plating bath, and connecting both electrodes to a power source.

  The deposition of the metal material by the osmotic plating is preferably progressed from one side of the coating film 15 to the other side. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2B to 2D, electrolytic plating is performed so that the deposition of the metal material 13 proceeds from the interface between the coating film 15 and the current collector 11 toward the surface of the coating film. I do. By precipitating the metal material 13 in this way, the surface of the active material particles 12a can be successfully coated with the metal material 13, and a void is successfully formed between the particles 12a coated with the metal material 13. be able to.

  As described above, the conditions of the infiltration plating for depositing the metal material 13 include the composition of the plating bath, the pH of the plating bath, the current density of electrolysis, and the like. Such conditions are as already described.

  As shown in FIGS. 2B to 2D, when plating is performed such that the deposition of the metal material 13 proceeds from the interface between the coating film 15 and the current collector 11 toward the surface of the coating film. In the forefront portion of the precipitation reaction, fine particles 13a made of plating nuclei of the metal material 13 are present in layers with a substantially constant thickness. As the deposition of the metal material 13 proceeds, adjacent microparticles 13a combine to form larger particles, and when the deposition proceeds further, the particles combine to continuously cover the surface of the active material particles 12a. It becomes like this.

  The permeation plating is terminated when the metal material 13 is deposited on the entire thickness direction of the coating film 15. By adjusting the end point of plating, a surface layer (not shown) can be formed on the upper surface of the active material layer 12. In this way, the target negative electrode is obtained as shown in FIG. In the case where a surface layer made of a different kind of metal from the metal material 13 is formed, the permeation plating is temporarily stopped when the metal material 13 is deposited in the entire thickness direction of the coating film 15, and then the type of the plating bath is changed. What is necessary is just to plate again and to form a surface layer on the coating film 15.

  It is also preferable to subject the negative electrode 10 to rust prevention after the osmotic plating. As the rust prevention treatment, for example, organic rust prevention using triazole compounds such as benzotriazole, carboxybenzotriazole, tolyltriazole, and imidazole, and inorganic rust prevention using cobalt, nickel, chromate and the like can be employed.

  In addition, regarding the present invention, the measured values described so far are measured values at 20 ° C. unless otherwise specified.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to such examples. Unless otherwise specified, “%” and “part” mean “% by weight” and “part by weight”, respectively.

[Example 1]
An average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 8 [mu] m of lithium carbonate, the average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 22 .mu.m of electrolytic manganese dioxide, an average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 25 [mu] m of nickel hydroxide, the average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 14 [mu] m of the cobalt oxyhydroxide, a molar ratio _{(Li 1.00 Mn 0.20 Co 0.20 Ni} 0.60 O 2 + 0.3Li 4/3 Mn 2/3 O 2) were weighed so as to form a solid solution. Water was added, and these were mixed and stirred to prepare a slurry having a solid content concentration of 50%. 120 g of polycarboxylic acid ammonium salt (manufactured by San Nopco Co., Ltd., SN Dispersant 5468) was added to the resulting slurry (raw material powder 1.8 kg), and a wet pulverizer (Dynomill, Shinmaru Enterprise Co., Ltd.). SDL, KDL-PILOT A) was pulverized for 28 minutes at a frequency of 50 Hz, so that the average particle size (D ₅₀ ) was 0.3 μm. The obtained slurry was granulated and dried using a thermal spray dryer (spray dryer, manufactured by Okawara Chemical Co., Ltd., L-8i). At this time, a rotating disk was used for spraying, and granulation drying was performed by adjusting the temperature so that the rotation speed was 30000 rpm, the slurry supply amount was 2 kg / hr, and the outlet temperature of the drying tower was 120 ° C. 500 g of the obtained granulated powder was filled in an alumina sagger and fired at 900 ° C. for 20 hours in the atmosphere using a stationary electric furnace (KBF-828N, manufactured by Koyo Thermo System Co., Ltd.). The fired powder obtained by firing was classified with a sieve having an opening of 75 μm to obtain a lithium transition metal composite oxide powder (compound represented by the formula (1)). The obtained powder was analyzed by ICP to confirm the desired composition. Further, it was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (MXP18II manufactured by Bruker AXS Co., Ltd.) that this powder was a single solid solution. The X-ray diffraction results are shown in FIG.

  This lithium transition metal oxide powder was used as a positive electrode active material. This positive electrode active material was kneaded with acetylene black (AB), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) and N-methylpyrrolidone as a solvent using a stirring deaerator (manufactured by Kurashiki Boseki Co., Ltd., Mazerustar KK-50). Thus, a positive electrode mixture was obtained. The weight ratio of the blending was lithium transition metal composite oxide: AB: PVdF = 88: 6: 6. This positive electrode mixture was applied to one side of a current collector made of aluminum foil (thickness 20 μm) using an applicator and dried at 120 ° C., followed by roll pressing with a load of 0.5 ton / cm to obtain a positive electrode. . The gap of the applicator was adjusted so that the thickness of the positive electrode was 50% with respect to the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode. As a result, the thickness was 48%. The positive electrode was punched into a diameter of 13 mm, and battery characteristics were evaluated.

(2) Production of negative electrode A current collector made of an electrolytic copper foil having a thickness of 18 μm was acid-washed at room temperature for 30 seconds. After the treatment, it was washed with pure water for 15 seconds. On one side of the current collector, a slurry containing silicon particles was applied to a film thickness of 15 μm to form a coating film. The composition of the slurry was particles: styrene butadiene rubber (binder): acetylene black = 100: 1.7: 2 (weight ratio). The average particle diameter D ₅₀ of the particles was 2 [mu] m. The average particle diameter D ₅₀ was measured using a Microtrac particle size distribution measuring device (No. 9320-X100) manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.

The current collector on which the coating film was formed was immersed in a copper pyrophosphate bath having the following bath composition, and copper was permeated to the coating film by electrolysis to form an active material layer. The electrolysis conditions were as follows. DSE was used for the anode. A DC power source was used as the power source.
Copper pyrophosphate trihydrate: 105 g / l
-Potassium pyrophosphate: 450 g / l
・ Potassium nitrate: 30 g / l
-P ratio: 7.7
・ Bath temperature: 50 ° C
・ Current density: 3 A / dm ²
-PH: Ammonia water and polyphosphoric acid were added to adjust to pH 8.2.

  The permeation plating was terminated when copper was deposited over the entire thickness direction of the coating film. In this way, a target negative electrode was obtained. SEM observation of the longitudinal section of the active material layer confirmed that the active material particles were covered with a copper film having an average thickness of 240 nm in the active material layer. The porosity of the active material layer was 30%. The obtained negative electrode was punched into a diameter of 14 mm. It was 10.9 mAh when the theoretical capacity | capacitance of the obtained negative electrode was measured by the above-mentioned method.

(3) Production of lithium secondary battery The positive electrode and the negative electrode thus obtained were opposed to each other with a separator made of a polyethylene porous film having a thickness of 20 μm interposed therebetween. As the electrolytic solution, a solution obtained by adding 2% by volume of vinylene carbonate to a solution of 1 mol / l LiPF ₆ dissolved in a 1: 1 volume% mixed solvent of ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate was used. This produced a 2032 type coin battery.

In this example and the following examples and comparative examples, the particle diameter D ₅₀ of the raw material and the positive electrode active material was measured by the following method. Using a sample circulator for laser diffraction particle size distribution analyzer (“Microtarac SDC” manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), the sample (powder) was put into water and irradiated with ultrasonic waves of 40 W at a flow rate of 80% for 360 seconds. Subsequently, the particle size distribution was measured using a laser diffraction particle size distribution measuring instrument “MT3000” manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd. Chart of the volumetric standard particle size distribution was determined particle size D ₅₀ from. For the measurement, pure water passed through a 60 μm filter was used, the solvent refractive index was 1.33, the particle permeability condition was transmitted, the particle refractive index was 1.81, and the measurement time was 30 seconds. The average value of the values measured twice was used as the measurement value. The negative electrode active material was measured in the same manner as the raw material and the positive electrode active material except that the apparatus was used and the particle permeability condition was used as reflection.

[Example 2]
An average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 8 [mu] m of lithium carbonate, the average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 22 .mu.m of electrolytic manganese dioxide, an average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 25 [mu] m of nickel hydroxide, the average particle diameter (D ₅₀₎ 14 [mu] m of Cobalt oxyhydroxide was weighed so as to form a solid solution (Li _1.00 Mn _0.20 Co _0.20 Ni _0.60 O ₂ + 0.2Li _4/3 Mn _2/3 O ₂ ) in a molar ratio. Water was added and mixed and stirred to prepare a slurry having a solid content concentration of 50%. Otherwise in the same manner as in Example 1, lithium transition metal composite oxide powder (compound represented by the formula (1)) was obtained. The obtained powder was analyzed by ICP to confirm the desired composition. Further, it was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (MXP18II manufactured by Bruker AXS Co., Ltd.) that this powder was a single solid solution. A 2032 type coin battery was manufactured from the positive electrode thus obtained using the same negative electrode and separator as in Example 1 and in the same procedure as in Example 1.

[Comparative Example 1]
The composition of the positive electrode active material and LiCoO _2, the raw material powder at the time of slurry preparation 1.5 kg, water 3.5 kg, a dispersing agent and 190 g, except that the firing temperature 1000 ° C. in the same manner as in Example 1 A positive electrode active material and a positive electrode were obtained. A 2032 type coin battery was manufactured from the positive electrode thus obtained using the same negative electrode and separator as in Example 1 and in the same procedure as in Example 1.

[Comparative Example 2]
A positive electrode active material and a positive electrode were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the composition of the positive electrode active material was Li _1.06 Mn _0.31 Co _0.31 Ni _0.32 O ₂ and the firing temperature was 975 ° C. A 2032 type coin battery was manufactured from the positive electrode thus obtained using the same negative electrode and separator as in Example 1 and in the same procedure as in Example 1.

[Evaluation]
About the secondary battery obtained by the Example and the comparative example, the irreversible capacity | capacitance at the time of preliminary | backup charge and a first time discharge capacity were measured by the above-mentioned method. The cycle characteristics were measured by the following method. Furthermore, the active material density in the positive electrode active material layer and the capacity per volume of the positive electrode active material layer were measured by the following methods. These results are shown in Table 1 below.

[Irreversible capacity, initial discharge capacity and cycle characteristics during pre-charging]
The irreversible capacity and initial discharge capacity at the time of preliminary charging were measured by the method described above. The cycle characteristics were expressed as a ratio of the 200th and 300th discharge capacities on the basis of the discharge capacity at the sixth time, with the discharge following the precharge as the first time, the initial charge / discharge as the second time. This ratio is defined as the capacity maintenance rate.
・ Preliminary charging:
After charging to 4.5V at a constant current of 0.01C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.5V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the constant current value.
・ Discharge after pre-charging:
Constant current mode, rate 0.01C, end voltage 2.7V
・ First to fourth charge:
After charging to 4.2 V with a constant current of 0.1 C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.2 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the constant current value.
・ First to fourth discharge:
Constant current mode, rate 0.1C, end voltage 2.7V
・ 5th and later charging:
After charging to 4.2 V with a constant current of 0.5 C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.2 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the constant current value.
・ 5th and subsequent discharges:
Constant current mode, rate 0.5C, end voltage 2.7V

[Active material density in positive electrode active material layer and capacity per volume of positive electrode active material layer]
The weight and thickness of the positive electrode were measured. Further, the weight and thickness of the aluminum foil used for the current collector were measured. From these measurement results, the density of the active material in the positive electrode active material layer was calculated. Furthermore, the capacity per volume of the positive electrode active material layer was calculated from the calculated density of the active material and the initial discharge capacity.

  As is clear from the results shown in Table 1, the secondary battery of the example using the lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the formula (1) as the positive electrode active material is a comparative example using a conventional positive electrode active material. It can be seen that the cycle characteristics are good and the capacity is higher than that of the secondary battery.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the cross-sectional structure of one Embodiment of the negative electrode used for the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery of this invention. It is process drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the negative electrode shown in FIG. 3 is an X-ray diffraction result of the lithium transition metal composite oxide powder obtained in Example 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Negative electrode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries 11 Current collector 12 Active material layer 12a Active material particles 13 Metal material having low lithium compound forming ability 15 Coating film

Claims (8)

A positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, comprising a lithium transition metal composite oxide represented by the following formula (1) and used in combination with a negative electrode active material containing Si or Sn.

The positive electrode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the compound represented by the formula (1) comprises a solid solution represented by the following formula (2).
Li _{1 + x} (MnαCoβNiγ) _1-x O ₂ .aLi _4/3 Mn _2/3 O ₂ (2)
(Wherein a, α, β, γ and x are as defined above.) When Si is used as the negative electrode active material, the precharge, which is the first charge after assembling the secondary battery, is performed under the following conditions, then the discharge is performed under the following conditions, and the initial charge / discharge is further performed under the following conditions: The positive electrode active material according to claim 1, wherein the initial discharge capacity in is at least 150 mAh per weight (g) of the positive electrode active material.
・ Preliminary charging:
After charging to 4.5V at a constant current of 0.01C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.5V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the constant current value.
・ Discharge after pre-charging:
It ends when it reaches 2.7V with a constant current of 0.1C.
・ First charge:
After charging to 4.2 V with a constant current of 0.1 C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.2 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the previous constant current value.
・ First discharge:
It ends when it reaches 2.7V with a constant current of 0.1C. When Si is used as the negative electrode active material and the precharge, which is the first charge after assembling the secondary battery, is performed under the following conditions, the irreversible capacity accumulated in the negative electrode and the initial charge / discharge after the precharge are as follows: The positive electrode active material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a ratio (the former / the latter) to the initial discharge capacity when performed under conditions is 0.15 to 0.55.
・ Preliminary charging:
After charging to 4.5V at a constant current of 0.01C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.5V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the constant current value.
・ Discharge after pre-charging:
It ends when it reaches 2.7V with a constant current of 0.1C.
・ First charge:
After charging to 4.2 V with a constant current of 0.1 C, the voltage is set to a constant potential from 4.2 V, and the process ends when the current value reaches 1/10 of the previous constant current value.
・ First discharge:
It ends when it reaches 2.7V with a constant current of 0.1C.   A positive electrode having the positive electrode active material according to claim 1 and a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material containing Si or Sn, wherein the active material layer of the negative electrode contains particles of an active material containing Si or Sn, A non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which at least a part of the surface of the particle is coated with a metal material having a low ability to form a lithium compound and a void is formed between the particles coated with the metal material .   The non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to claim 5, wherein the metal material is present on the surface of the particles throughout the thickness direction of the active material layer of the negative electrode.   The nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a porosity of the negative electrode active material layer is 15 to 45% by volume. The amount of the active material of the positive and negative electrodes is set so that the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode is 1.1 to 3.0 times the capacity of the positive electrode at the cut-off voltage of the charge after the preliminary charge,
The nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein lithium of 9 to 50% of the theoretical capacity of the negative electrode is accumulated in the negative electrode.

Images