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EP-4055649-B1 - SILICON CARBON COMPOSITE POWDER ACTIVE MATERIAL

EP4055649B1EP 4055649 B1EP4055649 B1EP 4055649B1EP-4055649-B1

Inventors

  • PARK, BENJAMIN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20201030

Claims (10)

  1. A silicon carbon composite powder (310) comprising: about 70-96% by weight silicon particles (302), wherein the silicon particles (302) have a D 50 size distribution of about 0.1 µm to about 1.0 µm; pyrolyzed carbon derived from a precursor polymer; wherein the silicon carbon composite powder particles (310) have a D 50 size distribution in a range of about 5 µm to about 15 µm; characterised in that : the silicon carbon composite powder comprises about 5-15% by weight graphite or other conductive carbon particles, wherein the graphite or other conductive carbon particles have a D 50 size distribution of about 0.1 µm to about 1.0 µm.
  2. The silicon carbon composite powder (310) according to claim 1, wherein the pyrolyzed carbon constitutes the remainder of the weight percent of the silicon carbon composite powder (310).
  3. The silicon carbon composite powder (310) according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the composite powder particles is substantially pyrolytic carbon that limits the surface exposure of the silicon particles (302).
  4. A battery comprising the silicon carbon composite powder (310) according to claim 1.
  5. The battery according to claim 4, wherein the surface of the silicon carbon composite powder particles (310) is substantially pyrolytic carbon that limits the surface exposure of the silicon particles (302).
  6. The battery according to claim 5, wherein the pyrolytic carbon at the surface of the silicon carbon composite powder particles (310) prevents the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer by limiting or preventing chemical reaction between the silicon and the electrolyte.
  7. An electrode comprising the silicon carbon composite powder (310) according to claim 1 and graphite particles having a D 50 size distribution in a range of about 5 µm to about 15 µm.
  8. The electrode according to claim 7, wherein the surface of the silicon carbon composite powder particles (310) is substantially pyrolytic carbon that limits the surface exposure of the silicon particles (302).
  9. The electrode according to claim 8, wherein the pyrolytic carbon at the surface of the silicon carbon composite powder particles (310) prevents the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer by limiting or preventing chemical reaction between the silicon and the electrolyte.
  10. A method for preparing a silicon carbon composite powder (310) according to claim 1, the method comprising: preparing (301), as a slurry, a mixture of silicon particles, polymer precursor, and conductive carbon; coating (303) the mixture on a substrate; drying (305) the mixture; pyrolyzing (309) the mixture to convert the precursor to a conductive carbon phase; processing (311) the pyrolyzed mixture to form the silicon carbon composite powder (310).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 16/679,140, filed on November 8, 2019. FIELD Aspects of the present disclosure relate to energy generation and storage. More specifically, certain embodiments of the disclosure relate to a method and system for generating silicon carbon composite powder that have electrical properties of thicker, active material silicon carbon composite films or carbon composite electrodes. BACKGROUND Document US 2014/166939 A1 relates to composite materials including silicon particles for use in battery electrodes, and discloses a composition comprising 15.8% of carbon derived from a polyimide liquid precursor, 57.9% of graphite particles, 5.3% of Super P conductive carbon particles, and 21.1% of silicon by weight. Document WO 2018/145765 A1 relates to core-shell composite particles, wherein the core contains silicon particles and carbon and the shell is based on carbon. The core is a porous aggregate containing a plurality of silicon particles and carbon, wherein the silicon particles have an average particle size D50 in the range from 0.5 to 5 µm and are present in the core in a proportion of ≥80% by weight. Conventional approaches for battery anodes may be costly, cumbersome, and/or inefficient-e.g., they may be complex and/or time consuming to implement, and may limit battery lifetime. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings. BRIEF SUMMARY A system and/or method for providing silicon carbon composite powder at microparticle-scale sizes, cells comprising the silicon carbon composite powder, and electrodes comprising the silicon carbon composite powder, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims. These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present disclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of a battery with anode expansion configured via silicon particle size, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 2 illustrates anode expansion during lithiation, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate electrode active materials, in accordance with example embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 3A depicts a typical silicon dominant silicon carbon active material film. FIG. 3B depicts an example embodiment of a silicon carbon composite powder in accordance with the disclosure. FIG. 3C depicts an example embodiment that incorporates silicon carbon composite powders, as described herein, into in-line processes that are used to generate electrode active materials in accordance with example embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 3D is an example embodiment of a flow diagram for a process for preparing the silicon carbon composite powderFIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for further processing silicon carbon composite powder for direct coating electrodes, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for further alternative process that further processes the silicon carbon composite powder for lamination of electrodes, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a diagram of a battery including a silicon carbon composite powder, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a battery 100 comprising a separator 103 sandwiched between an anode 101 and a cathode 105, with current collectors 107A and 107B. There is also shown a load 109 coupled to the battery 100 illustrating instances when the battery 100 is in discharge mode. In this disclosure, the term "battery" may be used to indicate a single electrochemical cell, a plurality of electrochemical cells formed into a module, and/or a plurality of modules formed into a pack. The development of portable electronic devices and electrification of transportation drive the need for high performance electrochemical energy storage. Small-scale (<100 Wh) to large-scale (>10KWh) devices primarily use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries over other rechargeable battery chemistries due to their high-performance. The anode 101 and cathode 105, along with the current collectors 107A and 107B, may comprise the electrodes, which may comprise plates or films within, or containing, an electrolyte material, where the plates may provide a physical barrier for containing the electrolyte as well as a conductive contact to external structures. In other embodiments, the an