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US-20260128367-A1 - ALL SOLID-STATE BATTERY

US20260128367A1US 20260128367 A1US20260128367 A1US 20260128367A1US-20260128367-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure sets forth an all solid-state battery that includes a positive electrode having cathode active material, binder, and catholyte material; a solid-state buffer on at least one side of the positive electrode layer; a bonding layer, and a lithium-stuffed garnet electrolyte separator.

Inventors

  • Cheng-Chieh Chao
  • Jing Xu
  • Yuki KATOH
  • Ran Tao
  • YaoSen Tian
  • Saori Tokuoka
  • Hyeseung Chung
  • Yang Li
  • Dennis Lu
  • Yuhao Wang

Assignees

  • QUANTUMSCAPE BATTERY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251219

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An electrochemical cell comprising: a positive electrode current collector; a positive electrode comprising a catholyte; a solid-state buffer layer in contact with the positive electrode and opposite the positive electrode current collector; a separator comprising a lithium-stuffed garnet layer and a metal layer; wherein the thickness of the solid-state buffer layer is greater than 0% and less than 50% the thickness of the positive electrode.
  2. 2 . An electrochemical cell comprising: a positive electrode current collector; a positive electrode comprising a catholyte; a solid-state buffer layer in contact with the positive electrode and opposite the positive electrode current collector; a separator comprising a lithium-stuffed garnet layer and a metal layer; wherein the thickness of the solid-state buffer layer is 0.5 μm to 50 μm.
  3. 3 . The electrochemical cell of claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a bonding layer between the solid-state buffer layer and the separator.
  4. 4 . The electrochemical cell of claim 3 , wherein the bonding layer is between the solid-state buffer layer and the lithium-stuffed garnet layer of the separator.
  5. 5 . The electrochemical cell of claim 3 , wherein the bonding layer is disposed on the face of the solid-state buffer layer.
  6. 6 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-5 , further comprising a negative electrode current collector and lithium metal between the negative electrode current collector and the separator.
  7. 7 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-6 , wherein the catholyte and the solid-state buffer layer are made of the same material.
  8. 8 . The electrochemical cell of claim 7 , wherein the same material is LSTPS, LPSI, LPSCl, or LPSBr, argyrodite, Li 7-z PS 6-z X z , wherein X is Cl, Br, I, or combinations thereof and 0≤z≤2.
  9. 9 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-6 , wherein the catholyte and the solid-state buffer layer are not made of the same material.
  10. 10 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-9 , wherein the positive electrode comprises cathode active material and at least one binder.
  11. 11 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-9 , wherein the lithium-stuffed garnet in the separator is characterized by the formula Li x La y Zr z O t ·qAl 2 O 3 , wherein 4<x<10, 1<y<4, 1<z<3, 6<t<14, and 0≤q≤1; or Li a La b Zr c Al d Me″ e O f , wherein 5<a<8.5; 2<b<4; 0≤c≤2.5; 0≤d<2; 0≤e<2, and 10<f<13 and Me″ is a metal selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ga, Ta, and combinations thereof.
  12. 12 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-11 , wherein the thickness of the lithium-stuffed garnet electrolyte separator is 10 μm to 100 μm.
  13. 13 . The electrochemical cell of any one of claims 1-12 , wherein the metal layer comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), tin (Sn), indium (In), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), silver (Ag), steel, an alloy thereof, and a combination thereof.
  14. 14 . The electrochemical cell of claim 13 , wherein the metal layer comprises nickel.
  15. 15 . The electrochemical cell of claim 13 , wherein the metal layer comprises iron.
  16. 16 . The electrochemical cell of claim 13 , wherein the metal layer comprises an alloy.
  17. 17 . The electrochemical cell of claim 16 , wherein the metal layer comprises an alloy of Fe and Ni, and the amount of Fe is about 1% to about 25% (w/w) with the remainder being Ni.
  18. 18 . The electrochemical cell of claim 16 , wherein the metal layer comprises an alloy of Al and Ni, and the amount of Al is about 1% to about 25% (w/w) with the remainder being Ni.
  19. 19 . A solid-state battery comprising: a positive electrode comprising cathode active material, at least one binder, and a catholyte; a solid-state buffer layer disposed on the positive electrode; a bonding layer disposed on the solid-state buffer layer; and a separator disposed on the bonding layer, wherein the separator comprises a lithium-stuffed garnet layer and a metal layer; and wherein the solid-state buffer layer comprises the same material as the catholyte material.
  20. 20 . The solid-state battery of claim 19 , wherein the lithium-stuffed garnet layer of the separator comprises a lithium-stuffed garnet selected from Li x La y Zr z O t ·qAl 2 O 3 , wherein 4<x<10, 1<y<4, 1<z<3, 6<t<14, and 0≤q≤1; or wherein the lithium-stuffed garnet layer of the separator comprises a lithium-stuffed garnet characterized by the formula Li a La b Zr c Al d Me″ e O f , wherein 5<a<8.5; 2<b<4; 0≤c≤2.5; 0≤d<2; 0≤e<2, and 10<f<13 and Me″ is a metal selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ga, Ta, and combinations thereof.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2025/037613, filed Jul. 14, 2025, which claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/671,443, filed Jul. 15, 2024, the entire contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. FIELD The present disclosure concerns solid-state rechargeable batteries, which are also known as secondary batteries. BACKGROUND Solid-state batteries operate within comparatively wider temperature, voltage, and pressure ranges than liquid electrolyte-based batteries do. Solid-state batteries may also include solid-state positive and negative electrodes. Solid-state batteries may include, for example, a metallic lithium (Li) negative electrode. Li metal negative electrodes maximize the energy density in a Li+ ion battery because they maximize the positive and negative electrode voltage differential. Solid-state rechargeable batteries are predicted to be safer (e.g., less flammable) and have higher energy and power densities than liquid electrolyte-based batteries currently commercially available. However, a series of unmet challenges remain, which has prevented the realization of commercially viable solid-state batteries. Because a series of unmet challenges remain, solutions to the aforementioned problems as well as others in the relevant filed are needed. The instant disclosure provides compositions, processes, and methods for overcoming these and other challenges and problems. SUMMARY In an aspect, set forth herein is an electrochemical cell comprising: a positive electrode current collector; a positive electrode comprising a catholyte; a solid-state buffer layer in contact with the positive electrode and opposite the current collector; a separator comprising a lithium-stuffed garnet layer and a metal layer; wherein the thickness of the buffer layer is greater than 0% and less than 50% the thickness of the positive electrode. In an aspect, set forth herein is an electrochemical cell comprising: a positive electrode current collector; a positive electrode comprising a catholyte; a solid-state buffer layer in contact with the positive electrode and opposite the current collector; a separator comprising a lithium-stuffed garnet layer and a metal layer; wherein the thickness of the buffer layer is 0.5 μm to 50 μm. In an aspect, set forth herein is a solid-state battery comprising: a positive electrode comprising cathode active material, at least one binder, and a catholyte; a solid-state buffer layer disposed on the positive electrode; a bonding layer disposed on the solid-state buffer layer; and a separator disposed on the bonding layer, wherein the separator comprises a lithium-stuffed garnet layer and a metal layer; and wherein the solid-state buffer layer comprises a different material than the catholyte material. In some embodiments, the lithium-stuffed garnet layer of the separator comprises a lithium-stuffed garnet selected from LixLayZrxOt·qAl2O3, wherein 4<x<10, 1<y<4, 1<z<3, 6<t<14, and 0≤q≤1; or wherein the lithium-stuffed garnet layer of the separator comprises a lithium-stuffed garnet characterized by the formula LiaLabZrcAldMe″eOf, wherein 5<a<8.5; 2<b<4; 0≤c≤2.5; 0≤d<2; 0≤e<2, and 10<f<13 and Me″ is a metal selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ga, Ta, and combinations thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A shows a schematic illustration of an example electrochemical cell. FIG. 1B is an SEM image of an example of the electrochemical cell disclosed herein. FIG. 2 is a plot of voltage as a function of active cycle charge density (mAh/cm2) over 50 cycles, as described in the examples. FIG. 3 is a plot of discharge ASR after 4 weeks of storage. FIG. 4 is a focused ion-beam cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy image of a solid-state cathode made using the casting process described in the examples. FIG. 5 is a focused ion-beam cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy image of a solid-state cathode made using the solvent-free process according to the examples. FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the electrochemical cell described herein. FIG. 7 is a plot of discharge capacity as a function of cycle number for up to 2000 cycles at 1C-1C (charge-discharge) rates and 30° C. FIG. 8A is a plot of state of charge as a function of cycle time at 4C charge rate and 45° C. FIG. 8B is a plot of discharge capacity as a function of cycle number for up to 300 cycles at 4C-0.5C (charge-discharge) rates and 45° C. FIG. 9 is a plot of discharge ASR after 4 weeks of storage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Definitions If a definition provided in any material incorporated by reference herein conflicts with a definition provided herein, the definition provided herein controls. As used herein, the term “about” when qualifying a number, e.g., about 15% w/w, refers to the number qualified and optionally the num