KR20150067126A - Copper foil, negative electrode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary cell, and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary cell - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a copper foil having excellent cycle characteristics, which is used as a current collector for a negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery. In the present invention, a copper foil is used which is characterized in that the deformation amount when a stress of 300 MPa is applied after heating at 300 캜 for 1 hour is 0.2 to 0.4%. It is preferable that the copper foil has an amount of deformation of 0.2 to 0.33% when a stress of 300 MPa is applied after heating at 300 캜 for one hour. It is also preferable that the copper foil contains 0.005 to 0.3 mass% of at least one of molybdenum, delurium and titanium.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a negative electrode and a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, and a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery,

The present invention relates to a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery having a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material layer formed on the surfaces of positive and negative current collectors and a nonaqueous electrolyte, and an electrolytic copper foil excellent in constituting a current collector for a negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery.

Recently, development of a next-generation negative electrode active material having a charge / discharge capacity exceeding the theoretical capacity of a carbon material as a negative electrode active material of a lithium ion secondary battery has been progressing. For example, a material containing a metal that can be alloyed with lithium (Li) such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), and tin (Sn) is expected.

Particularly, when Si, Ge or Sn is used as an active material, it is difficult to keep the adhesion state between the collector and the active material satisfactorily because such a material has a large volume change due to insertion and extraction of Li during charge and discharge. In addition, these materials have drawbacks that cycle deterioration is very large because the active material particles are undifferentiated or separated by repeated expansion and contraction by a charge-discharge cycle.

For the purpose of solving such drawbacks, the use of a polyimide binder to improve the adhesion between the active material and the current collector has been proposed.

Since the curing temperature of the polyimide binder is about 300 ° C, the use of a polyimide binder is expected to result in the appearance of a current collector (copper foil) capable of withstanding this temperature.

When Si, Ge, Sn, or the like is used to increase the capacity of the active material, the active material layer becomes thick, so that it may be difficult to diffuse the electrolytic solution into the active material layer as a whole. As countermeasures thereto, there is an electrode plate for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which a gap or the like is provided in the active material layer so that the electrolyte is diffused toward the current collector (copper foil) side of the active material layer (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-49136

However, when comparing the collector side of the active material layer with the electrolytic solution side with the invention described in Patent Document 1, there is a difference in the amount of the electrolytic solution and a stress difference is caused by the expansion and contraction of the active material depending on the distance from the electrolytic solution side of the active material layer . Further, the amount of the electrolytic solution reaching the current collector side of the active material layer becomes uneven in the horizontal direction, and becomes larger in accordance with the deformation based on the stress difference, so that the stress becomes more uneven. As a result, the uneven stress between the current collector and the active material is increased, and local stress concentration causes deformation and breakage of the current collector, thereby deteriorating the battery characteristics. On the other hand, when there is no deformation or breakage of the copper foil, the stress is not relaxed by the expansion and contraction of the active material, and the internal stress of the active material is increased. As a result, breakage of the active material occurs, .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a copper foil excellent in cycle characteristics, which is used as a current collector for a negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery.

In view of the above object, the inventors of the present invention have found that, in order to suppress deformation due to uneven stress applied to the copper foil or increase in stress in the active material, the inventors have found that, , The present inventors have found that the problem of the present invention can be solved by controlling the amount of deformation under a certain stress, and the present invention has been accomplished.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following invention is provided.

(1) A copper foil having a strain of 0.2 to 0.4% when stress is applied at 300 MPa after heating at 300 DEG C for 1 hour.

(2) The copper foil according to (1), wherein the deformation amount when a stress of 300 MPa is applied after heating at 300 占 폚 for 1 hour is 0.2 to 0.33%.

(3) The copper foil according to any one of (1) to (2), wherein the copper foil contains 0.005 to 0.3 mass% of at least one of molybdenum, titanium and tellurium.

(4) The copper foil has an active material layer containing at least one of silicon, germanium and tin on the surface of the copper foil, wherein the deformation amount when the stress is applied at 300 MPa after being heated at 300 캜 for one hour is 0.2 to 0.4% And a negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery.

(5) The nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery using the negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to (4).

According to the present invention, a copper foil excellent in cycle characteristics, which is used as a current collector for a negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, can be obtained.

≪ 1 >
Sectional view showing a negative electrode 1 for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2,
Sectional view showing a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery 31 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The negative electrode 1 for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to the first embodiment will be described.

1 is a view showing a negative electrode 1 for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery. The negative electrode 1 for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery has an active material layer 5 on a copper foil 3.

(Copper foil 3)

Copper foil 3 is usually subjected to a heat treatment at 300 占 폚 for 1 hour when a polyimide binder is used. In this case, the copper foil 3 preferably has a deformation amount of 0.2 to 0.4%, more preferably 0.2 to 0.33%, when stress is applied at 300 MPa at room temperature after being heated at 300 캜 for one hour. This is because when the amount of deformation is less than 0.2%, the active material layer can not sufficiently relieve the stress caused by the expansion and contraction of the active material, so that the active material layer tends to break. When the amount of deformation is 0.4% Plastic deformation and breakage of the battery tend to occur. In either case, the battery characteristics may be deteriorated.

Thus, the copper foil satisfying 0.2 to 0.4% of the deformation amount is optimum. For this purpose, copper foils containing at least one of, for example, molybdenum, titanium and delurium are suitable. By incorporating such a metal in the copper foil, the pinning effect of the grain boundaries can be exhibited and the coarsening of the crystal grains can be controlled even in the heat treatment at 300 占 폚 or more. As a result, in the stress-strain curve of the copper foil heated at 300 ° C, the amount of deformation can be finished within a range of 0.2 to 0.4%. The content of the additive element in the foil is preferably 0.005 mass% to 0.3 mass%. If the content is less than 0.005 mass%, the pinning effect is weak and coarsening of crystal grains occurs, and the deformation amount exceeds 0.4%. When the content is more than 0.3 mass%, the deformation amount is less than 0.2% . And is also undesirable from the viewpoint of electrical properties such that the conductivity is lowered.

The effect of the present invention can also be obtained by adding a substance other than molybdenum, titanium or delurium, as long as it exhibits the pinning effect of the grain boundaries and can suppress the crystal grain coarsening even in the heat treatment at 300 ° C or higher .

Further, it is preferable that the copper foil 3 has a tensile strength of 450 MPa or more at room temperature after being heated at 300 캜 for one hour. When the pressure is 450 MPa or less, plastic deformation, cracking, and the like tend to occur in the copper foil due to the stress caused by the expansion and contraction of the active material at the time of charging and discharging.

(Active material layer 5)

The active material layer 5 is a layer containing at least one kind of negative electrode active material among silicon, germanium and tin. The active material layer 5 can be obtained by applying a slurry containing silicon, germanium, tin particles, an auxiliary agent and a binder, etc. on the copper foil and drying the same. As the binder, polyimide, polyamideimide, polybenzimidazole and the like can be used. When polyimide or the like is used, a high-temperature heat treatment (for example, 300 DEG C or higher) is required in the drying step.

(Production method of copper foil 3)

The present inventors have repeatedly carried out various experiments to produce copper foil. As a result, in the case where chlorine is not contained in the electrolytic solution, metal elements such as molybdenum, titanium, and delurium can be easily contained in the foil and the strength of the foil after heating can be increased . Further, even when chlorine is contained in the electrolytic solution, metal elements such as molybdenum, titanium, and delurium can be inserted by adding a thiourea compound, and the strength of the foil after the state (normal state) I knew I could raise it. It has also been found that by controlling the content of such additional elements, the amount of deformation under a certain stress can be controlled in the stress-strain curve.

Based on these experimental results, an example of a foil condition of an electrolytic copper foil satisfying the following conditions and a negative electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery will be described.

Electrolytic plating solution is prepared by adding a metal element such as molybdenum, titanium, or dellurium, a thiourea compound (for example, ethylene thiourea) and a chloride ion to a copper sulfate-based electrolytic solution. The purpose of adding a thiourea-based compound to an electrolytic solution is to insert a metal element such as molybdenum into the gold foil in the presence of chlorine.

On the other hand, when the thiourea-based compound is not used as an additive for the electrolytic solution, the addition amount of the chloride ion of the electrolytic solution is preferably less than 5 ppm.

The electrodeposited copper foil is a copper foil having a current density of 40 to 55 A / dm < ² > at a current density of about 30 to about 55 A / dm ^{2 with} a metal element such as molybdenum, a thiourea compound and a copper sulfate solution containing chlorine as an electrolyte, , Electrolytic treatment is carried out at a temperature of 45 to 60 ° C to produce a foil (foil).

(Characteristic of Negative Electrode 1 for Non-aqueous Electrolyte Secondary Battery)

Since the copper foil according to the present embodiment has an appropriate amount of deformation against the stress caused by the expansion and contraction of the active material even after heating at 300 캜 for one hour, the large expansion and contraction of the active material including silicon, germanium, tin, It is possible to provide a copper foil in which deformation and breakage of the current collector (copper foil) are hard to occur while maintaining the adhesion between the whole (copper foil) and the active material. The negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which the copper foil according to the present embodiment is used as a current collector, and the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery using the negative electrode have excellent cycle characteristics.

(Non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery)

An example of the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to the present embodiment is shown in Fig. 2, the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery 31 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which the positive electrode 33, the negative electrode 35, and the separator 37 are interposed between the separator-negative electrode-separator- So as to form an electrode plate assembly, which is inserted into the battery can 41. The positive electrode 33 is connected to the positive electrode terminal 47 through the positive electrode lead 43 and the negative electrode 35 is connected to the battery can 41 via the negative electrode lead 45. The chemical energy generated inside the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery 31 is taken out to the outside . Then, after the electrolyte 39 is filled in the battery can 41 so as to cover the electrode plates, the battery can 41 is composed of a circular lid plate and a positive electrode terminal 47 on the upper end (opening) of the battery can 41. And the sealing member 49 is provided via an annular insulated gasket.

Example

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples. In this embodiment, molybdenum, titanium and delur are used as additives, but other additives may be used if the amount of deformation at a load of 300 MPa is 0.2 to 0.4% or less in the stress-strain curve.

≪ Examples 1 to 9 >

A titanium drum was set in a copper sulfate electrolytic solution to which an amount of copper sulfate, sulfuric acid, chloride ion, ETU (ethylene thiourea), molybdate, titanate and dellur oxide was added in an amount shown in Table 1 and electrolytic copper foil (Film formation). The Cu, Mo, Ti, and Te concentrations in Table 1 are the mass concentrations of the respective metal elements (Cu, Mo, Ti, and Te).

Electrolytic condition

Current density of 40 to 55 A / dm ²

Temperature 45 to 60 DEG C

The thus-treated electrolytic copper foil was rust-inhibited under the following conditions.

An electrolytic copper foil (untreated copper foil) made of foil was immersed in an aqueous solution of 1 g / L of CrO ₃ for 5 seconds, washed with a chromate treatment, and then dried.

In this case, the chromate treatment is performed, but the treatment with the silane coupling agent may be performed as well as the benzotriazole-based treatment, the silane coupling agent treatment, or the chromate treatment.

≪ Comparative Examples 1 to 5 >

A titanium drum was set in an electrolytic solution of copper sulfate containing copper, sulfuric acid, chlorine, molybdenum, delurite, and ETU (ethylene thiourea) in the amounts shown in Table 1, and electrolytic copper foils were formed .

Electrolytic condition

Current density of 40 to 55 A / dm ²

Temperature 45 to 60 DEG C

In this manner, a copper foil made of foil was subjected to the same surface treatment as in Example 1.

<Evaluation of Examples and Comparative Examples>

The copper foil thus prepared was subjected to the following tests.

(Content of molybdenum and delur in copper foil)

The contents of molybdenum, titanium and delur were determined by ICP emission spectrometry after dissolving a certain amount of electrolytic copper foil in an acid and then measuring the amount of molybdenum, titanium and delurium in the solution.

(Tensile strength and elongation measurement of copper foil)

A copper foil subjected to normal temperature and heat treatment was subjected to a tensile test at room temperature in accordance with IPC-TM-650. The tensile strength and the deformation amount at the time of 300 MPa load were calculated from the obtained stress deformation diagram, respectively. In addition, the crosshead speed was set to 50 mm / min when measuring, and a noncontact camera type extensometer was used to measure the deformation.

(Battery performance test)

· Cathode for lithium secondary battery

90 wt% of a powdery Si alloy type active material (average particle diameter of 0.1 탆 to 10 탆) and 10 wt% of a polyimide binder as a binder were mixed to prepare a negative electrode mixture, and this negative electrode mixture was dissolved in N-methylpyrrolidone (Solvent) to obtain an active material slurry.

The slurry was applied to both sides of a 12 μm-thick strip-shaped electrolytic copper foil prepared in Examples and Comparative Examples, dried and then heated at 300 ° C. for 1 hour, and compressed and formed into a strip-shaped negative electrode by a roller press machine. In this band-shaped negative electrode, the film thickness of the negative electrode mixture after molding was 90 μm on both sides, and the width was 55.6 mm and the length was 551.5 mm.

· Preparation of anode for lithium secondary battery

A mixture of lithium carbonate 0.5 molar and cobalt carbonate 1 mol and, 900 ℃ in air and calcined 5 hours to a positive electrode active material (LiCoO _2).

91 wt% of the positive electrode active material (LiCoO ₂ ), 6 wt% of graphite as a conductive agent, and 3 wt% of polyvinylidene fluoride as a binder were mixed to prepare a positive electrode composite material, which was then mixed with N-methyl- Dispersed in water to form a slurry.

Subsequently, this slurry was uniformly coated on both sides of a positive electrode current collector made of strip-shaped aluminum having a thickness of 20 mu m, dried and compression-molded by a roller press machine to obtain a strip-shaped positive electrode having a thickness of 160 mu m. The strip-shaped positive electrode had a thickness of the positive electrode composite material after molding of 70 mu m on each surface, a width of 53.6 mm, and a length of 523.5 mm.

· Manufacture of lithium ion secondary battery

A lithium ion secondary battery was produced as a kind of non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery. The strip-shaped positive electrode and the strip-shaped negative electrode fabricated as described above were laminated with a separator made of a microporous polypropylene film having a thickness of 25 탆 and a width of 58.1 mm to obtain a laminated electrode body. The laminated electrode body was wound several times in a spiral shape with its cathode facing inward along its longitudinal direction, and the outermost separator was fixed at its outermost end with a tape to form a spiral electrode body. The hollow portion of the spiral electrode body has an inner diameter of 3.5 mm and an outer diameter of 17 mm.

The prepared spiral electrode body was housed in a nickel-plated steel battery can in a state where an insulating plate was provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the spiral electrode body, and a positive electrode lead made of aluminum was led out from the positive electrode collector to collect the positive electrode and the negative electrode, And the negative electrode lead made of nickel is led out from the negative electrode collector and connected to the battery can.

5.0 g of a nonaqueous electrolytic solution obtained by dissolving LiPF6 at a rate of 1 mol / L in a solvent prepared by mixing propylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate in the same volume was charged into a battery can containing the spiral electrode body. Then, the battery can was tightly adhered tightly through the insulating encapsulated gasket coated with asphalt to maintain the airtightness in the battery can.

As shown above, a cylindrical lithium secondary battery having a diameter of 18 mm and a height of 65 mm was produced.

In the case of this lithium ion secondary battery, evaluation of the battery was carried out at a temperature of 25 占 폚 in the following manner.

(First condition)

Charging: Constant current charging was performed at a current equivalent to 0.1 C, and the battery was charged at a constant voltage after reaching 4.2 V, and the process was terminated when the charging current decreased to 0.05 C or less.

Discharge: A constant current discharge was performed at a current equivalent to 0.1 C, and the process was terminated when the voltage reached 3.0 V.

(Charge / discharge cycle condition)

After the initial charge-discharge test, charging and discharging were repeated up to 100 cycles at a current equivalent to 0.5C. The value obtained by dividing the discharge capacity after 100 cycles by the initial discharge capacity was taken as the capacity retention rate, and the cycle characteristics were evaluated.

As shown in Table 1, in the examples, the amount of deformation at a load of 300 MPa after heating at 300 占 폚 for 1 hour was 0.2 to 0.4% or less, and the lithium ion secondary battery using the copper foil as a current collector exhibited favorable cycle characteristics. In particular, in Examples 1 to 5, the amount of deformation at a load of 300 MPa after heating at 300 占 폚 for 1 hour was less than 0.2 to 0.33%, and the lithium ion secondary battery using this copper foil as a current collector showed particularly good cycle characteristics.

In Comparative Example 1, the deformation of the copper foil during charging and discharging was severe because the deformation amount at the time of 300 MPa load after heating was as large as 0.45%, and the lithium ion secondary battery using the copper foil as a current collector had a poor cycle characteristic.

In Comparative Example 2, the amount of deformation at a load of 300 MPa after heating was as small as 0.17%. In the lithium ion secondary battery using this copper foil as a current collector, problems such as breakage of the active material layer and dropout at the current collector occurred, I could not.

In Comparative Examples 3, 4, and 5, since the tensile strength after heating was less than 300 MPa, the amount of deformation at the time of 300 MPa load could not be calculated. The lithium ion secondary battery using the copper foil as a current collector had problems such as breakage of the copper foil 100 cycles before, and the cycle characteristics could not be evaluated.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to tables and drawings, the present invention is not limited to the related examples. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1 cathode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery
3 copper foil
5 active material layer
31 non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery
33 Anode
35 cathode
37 Separator
39 electrolyte
41 Battery cans
43 Positive lead
45 cathode lead
47 Positive terminal
49 sealing body

Claims (5)

And a deformation amount when the stress is applied at 300 MPa after heating at 300 캜 for 1 hour is 0.2 to 0.4%. The method according to claim 1,
And the deformation amount when the stress is applied at 300 MPa after heating at 300 캜 for 1 hour is 0.2 to 0.33%. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the copper foil contains 0.005 to 0.3 mass% of at least one of molybdenum, titanium and delurium. And an active material layer containing at least one of silicon, germanium and tin on the surface of the copper foil wherein the deformation amount when the stress is applied at 300 MPa after heating at 300 캜 for 1 hour is 0.2 to 0.4% Characterized in that the negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is a negative electrode. A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery using the negative electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to claim 4.

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