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  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01G—COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F
  • C01G23/00—Compounds of titanium
  • C01G23/007—Titanium sulfides
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M4/00—Electrodes
  • H01M4/02—Electrodes composed of, or comprising, active material
  • H01M4/04—Processes of manufacture in general
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01G—COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F
  • C01G33/00—Compounds of niobium
  • C01G33/006—Compounds containing niobium, with or without oxygen or hydrogen, and containing two or more other elements
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01G—COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F
  • C01G39/00—Compounds of molybdenum
  • C01G39/006—Compounds containing molybdenum, with or without oxygen or hydrogen, and containing two or more other elements
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01G—COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F
  • C01G39/00—Compounds of molybdenum
  • C01G39/06—Sulfides
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01G—COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F
  • C01G49/00—Compounds of iron
  • C01G49/009—Compounds containing iron, with or without oxygen or hydrogen, and containing two or more other elements
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01G—COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F
  • C01G49/00—Compounds of iron
  • C01G49/12—Sulfides
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
  • H01M10/05—Accumulators with non-aqueous electrolyte
  • H01M10/052—Li-accumulators
  • H01M10/0525—Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M4/00—Electrodes
  • H01M4/02—Electrodes composed of, or comprising, active material
  • H01M4/13—Electrodes for accumulators with non-aqueous electrolyte, e.g. for lithium-accumulators; Processes of manufacture thereof
  • H01M4/139—Processes of manufacture
  • H01M4/1397—Processes of manufacture of electrodes based on inorganic compounds other than oxides or hydroxides, e.g. sulfides, selenides, tellurides, halogenides or LiCoFy
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M4/00—Electrodes
  • H01M4/02—Electrodes composed of, or comprising, active material
  • H01M4/36—Selection of substances as active materials, active masses, active liquids
  • H01M4/58—Selection of substances as active materials, active masses, active liquids of inorganic compounds other than oxides or hydroxides, e.g. sulfides, selenides, tellurides, halogenides or LiCoFy; of polyanionic structures, e.g. phosphates, silicates or borates
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF SOLID INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
  • C01P2002/00—Crystal-structural characteristics
  • C01P2002/70—Crystal-structural characteristics defined by measured X-ray, neutron or electron diffraction data
  • C01P2002/72—Crystal-structural characteristics defined by measured X-ray, neutron or electron diffraction data by d-values or two theta-values, e.g. as X-ray diagram
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF SOLID INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
  • C01P2006/00—Physical properties of inorganic compounds
  • C01P2006/40—Electric properties
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
  • Y02E60/10—Energy storage using batteries

Definitions

• the present invention relates to processes for the production of sulphides, in particular lithium transition metal sulphides useful in the production of batteries.
• sulphides lithium transition metal sulphides useful in the production of batteries.
• Li/MoS 2 lithium metal / molybdenum disulphide
• Other sulphides, such as iron disulphide FeS 2 , titanium disulphide TiS 2 and selenides, such as niobium triselenide NbSe 3 have also been particularly investigated as alternative cathode materials.
• lithium metal rechargeable batteries Although the use of lithium metal rechargeable batteries is now limited for reasons of safety, they are still used in the laboratory testing of materials. Lithium metal primary batteries using iron disulphide cathodes are manufactured. Virtually all modern lithium rechargeable batteries are of the lithium - ion type, in which the negative electrode (anode) comprises lithium absorbed into a carbon support. These use a lithium containing cathode material, which is usually lithium cobalt oxide LiCoO 2 although lithium nickel oxide LiNiO 2 , lithium manganese oxide LiMn 2 O and mixed oxides are also known to have been used. Due to their high cost, the use of lithium rechargeable batteries at present is mainly limited to premium applications, such as portable computers or telephones. To gain access to wider markets, for example in applications such as the powering of electric vehicles, the cost must be reduced. Hence there is a strong demand for the high performance obtainable from lithium - ion batteries at much more economical prices.
• Binary transition metal sulphides are however not suitable for direct use in lithium - ion cells as they do not contain lithium.
• Lithium transition metal ternary sulphides such as lithium molybdenum sulphide, lithium titanium sulphide, lithium niobium sulphide and lithium iron sulphide have been suggested as electrode materials for batteries (see for example, Japanese Kokai No 10208782 and Solid State Ionics 117 (1999) 273 - 276).
• the conventional synthesis of lithium iron sulphide is via a solid state reaction in which lithium sulphide, Li 2 S, and ferrous sulphide, FeS, are intimately mixed together and heated under an inert atmosphere at a temperature of ca. 800°C.
• lithium iron sulphide can be made by an electrochemical synthesis route in which a lithium metal / iron disulphide cell is discharged, and the lithium metal is removed and replaced by a carbon anode. This process however, is not amenable to scaling up.
• a process for the production of a lithium transition metal sulphide comprises reacting a transition metal sulphide with lithium sulphide in a solvent comprising a molten salt or a mixture of molten salts.
• the transition metal sulphide used in the process is an iron, molybdenum, niobium or titanium sulphide and is preferably an iron sulphide: Ferrous sulphide, FeS, and iron disulphide, FeS 2 , are inexpensive and readily available naturally occurring minerals.
• the molten salt or mixture of molten salts comprises an alkali metal halide or a mixture of alkali metal halides, or an alkaline earth metal halide or a mixture of alkaline earth metal halides, or any mixture thereof. More preferably, the molten salt or mixture of molten salts comprises a lithium halide or a mixture of * lithium halides.
• the molten salt or mixture of molten salts comprises at least one of lithium fluoride, lithium chloride, lithium bromide or lithium iodide.
• the reaction temperature should be sufficient to liquefy the molten salt or mixture of molten salts. This need not necessarily be the melting point of the molten salt or mixture of molten salts as the addition of the reactants may depress the melting point. Typically, reaction temperatures of less than 1000°C and most often less than 700°C are suitable, however dependent on the choice of solvent, reaction temperatures of less than 300°C may be used.
• reaction proceeds more rapidly than previously known processes. On a laboratory scale, the reaction can be completed in a few hours, with the actual reaction time dependent largely on the heating time of the furnace.
• lithium sulphide may be bought commercially, for large scale production it is more economical to produce lithium sulphide via the reduction of lithium sulphate.
• One convenient method is to heat lithium sulphate above its melting point of 860°C in the presence of carbon.
• Other standard reduction methods may equally be used, as well known in the art.
• the product After the reaction is complete and allowed to cool, the product must be recovered from the solvent. Suitably the product is recovered by dissolution of the solvent in an organic liquid.
• the organic liquid chosen is dependent on the composition of the solvent used, however some examples include, pyridine, ether and acetonitrile which are suitable for the dissolution of lithium chloride, lithium bromide and lithium iodide respectively. Numerous other suitable liquids will be known to those skilled in the art.
• a mixed salt solvent it may be necessary to perform more than one dissolution process. For example, a reaction using a mixture of lithium chloride and lithium bromide as a solvent may require a first dissolution process using pyridine to remove the lithium chloride, followed by a second dissolution process using ether to remove the lithium bromide.
• the present invention further provides a process for producing at least one lithium transition metal sulphide by reacting a transition metal sulphide with lithium sulphide in the presence of a molten salt or mixture of molten salts.
• a plurality of lithium transition metal sulphides may be made by such a process and subsequently separated.
• a process for producing one or more lithium transition metal sulphides by reacting one or more transition metal sulphides with lithium sulphide in the presence of a further salt with which they do not react, in an inert atmosphere, wherein the salt and at least one component are in a molten state to allow intimate mixing, the salt preferably acting as a solvent for said at least one component.
• Lithium transition metal sulphides obtained by the above described process form a further aspect of the invention. These compounds are useful in the production of electrodes for use in batteries. In particular, they are useful in the production of electrodes for rechargeable batteries. These electrodes form the cathode, and suitable anodes are lithium ion anodes as are known in the art.
• Suitable electrolytes are also well known and include mixtures of inorganic carbonates, for example ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, diethyl or dimethyl carbonates, ethyl methyl carbonate together with a lithium salt, usually lithium hexafluorophosphate, LiPF 6 , or lithium trifluoromethane sulphonate ('triflates'), LiCF 3 SO 3 or lithium tetrafluoroborate, LiBF .
• lithium salt usually lithium hexafluorophosphate, LiPF 6 , or lithium trifluoromethane sulphonate ('triflates'), LiCF 3 SO 3 or lithium tetrafluoroborate, LiBF .
• Molten salts and mixtures of molten salts are not conventional solvents and their use, acting like solvents in the production of sulphides, therefore forms a further aspect of the invention. As described above, they are particularly suitable for use as solvents in reactions used in the production of lithium transition metal sulphides.
• Figure 1 shows an x-ray diffraction trace for the product obtained using a first example of a process according to the present invention
• Figure 2 shows cycling curves for the product obtained using a first example of a process according to the present invention
• Figure 3 shows an x-ray diffraction trace for the product obtained using a second example of a process according to the present invention
• Figure 4 shows an x-ray diffraction trace for the product obtained using a third example of a process according to the present invention
• Figure 5 shows cycling curves for the product obtained using a third example of a process according to the present invention.
• Figure 6 shows an x-ray diffraction trace for the product obtained using a fourth example of a process according to the present invention.
• Lithium iron sulphide, Li 2 FeS 2 was synthesised according to the following equation:
• Negative electrodes were made by a similar method except that the active material was carbon in the form of graphite with some carbon black added, the binder was polyvinylidene fluoride dissolved in N - methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP) and the metallic backing sheet was copper.
• the electrolyte was ethylene carbonate (EC) / diethyl carbonate (DEC) / 1 molar lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6 ). Cells were cycled at room temperature. This cell cycling procedure is described in more detail by A. Gilmour, C. O. Giwa, J. C. Lee and A. G. Ritchie, in the Journal of Power Sources, volume 65, pages 219 - 224.
• Fig. 1 shows an XRD trace of the product obtained.
• the vertical lines 1 represent the standard trace for pure Li 2 FeS 2 taken from the JCPDS database.
• the main peaks are co-incident with and have similar relative intensities to these lines 1 , indicating that the dominant product phase obtained was Li 2 FeS 2 .
• the remaining peaks correspond to small amounts of unreacted starting materials.
• Fig. 2 illustrates three cycling curves which indicate that the cathode could be repeatedly charged and discharged. This demonstrates that the product was suitable for use as a cathode material for a lithium rechargeable battery.
• Li 2 S and FeS were reacted together in a molten salt solvent of lithium bromide, LiBr, at 550°C for ca. 2 hours, under an argon atmosphere. After completion, the LiBr was removed by refluxing in diethyl ether for 8 hours.
• Fig. 3 shows an XRD trace of the product obtained.
• the vertical lines 1 represent the standard trace for pure Li 2 FeS 2 taken from the JCPDS database.
• the main peaks are co-incident with and have similar relative intensities to these lines 1 , indicating that the dominant product phase obtained was Li 2 FeS 2 .
• the remaining peaks correspond to small amounts of unreacted starting materials.
• Li 2 S and FeS were reacted together in a molten salt solvent of lithium iodide, Lil, at 450°C for ca. 2 hours, under an argon atmosphere. After completion, the Lil was removed by refluxing in acetonitrile for 8 hours.
• Fig. 4 shows an XRD trace of the product obtained.
• the vertical lines 1 represent the standard trace for pure Li 2 FeS 2 taken from the JCPDS database.
• the main peaks are co-incident with and have similar relative intensities to these lines 1 , indicating that the dominant product phase obtained was Li 2 FeS 2 .
• the remaining peaks correspond to small amounts of unreacted starting materials.
• Fig. 5 illustrates three cycling curves which indicate that the cathode could be repeatedly charged and discharged. This demonstrates that the product was suitable for use as a cathode material for a lithium rechargeable battery.
• Example 4
• Li 2 S and FeS 2 were reacted together in a molten salt solvent of lithium chloride, LiCI, at 700°C for ca. 2 hours, under an argon atmosphere. After completion the lithium chloride was removed by refluxing in pyridine for 8 hours.
• Fig 6 shows an XRD trace of the product obtained. The main peaks, are coincident with the lithium iron sulphides, Li 3 Fe 2 S 4 , Li 2 FeS 2 and Li 2 . 33 Fe 0 . 67 S 2 . Unlike the other examples, a single pure product was not obtained. These products are known to be suitable as battery cathode materials (A. G. Ritchie and P. G.

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