Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 11,641,012 B2Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 Schematic illustrating the notion that, in a prior art anode, expansion of Si particles, upon lithium intercalation, can lead to pulverization of Si …
FIG. 2 Schematic of a mass of graphene foam-protected Si nanowires, which may be mechanically broken to obtain a powder mass of a graphene/Si nanowire hybrid …
FIG. 3(B) Schematic of another lithium-ion battery; the anode layer being composed of particles of an anode active 35 material, a conductive additive (not …
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
FIG. 5 Cycling test results of two lithium-ion cells: The first battery cell contains a Si nanowire/graphene hybrid, wherein Si nanowires (diameter of 60-90 nm) …
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
FIG. 7 Cycling test results of 3 lithium-ion cells: first cell containing original Si particles and graphene sheets simply mixed together (no Si nanowires) as …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/gra-phene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a mixture of catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and a blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a particle diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and said catalyst metal is in a form of nanoparticles having a diameter from 0.5 nm to 100 nm or a thin coating having a thickness from 0.5 nm to 100 nm deposited on surfaces of said Si particles and on surfaces of graphene sheets, and wherein said Si particles contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment, including a temperature from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a porous graphene structure or a graphene foam and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 2 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5 and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to mechanically break said graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanow-ires to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in 35 a powder mass form.
The process of claim 1, wherein said step (A) of preparing said mixture is conducted by (a) dispersing said catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and optional blowing agent in a liquid medium to form a graphene/Si dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said graphene/Si dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of graphene/Si mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of graphene/Si mixture to form a dried layer of said mixture.
The process of claim 1, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets contain a pristine graphene material having less than 0.01% by weight of non-carbon elements or a non-pristine gra-phene material having 0.01% to 50% by weight of noncarbon elements, wherein said non-pristine graphene is selected from graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated gra-phene, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein surfaces of said graphene sheets are also deposited with said catalyst metal and Si nanowires are also grown and emanated from said graphene surfaces.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets are selected from a single-layer sheet or few-layer platelet of pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemi-cally functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof, wherein few layer is defined as less than 10 layers of graphene planes.
The process of claim 1, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal-coated Si particles are produced by a step of depositing a catalyst metal on Si particle surfaces by a procedure of physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, sput-tering, plasma deposition, laser ablation, plasma spraying, ultrasonic spraying, printing, electrochemical deposition, electrode plating, electrodeless plating, chemical plating, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is deposited on Si and graphene sheet surfaces by a procedure including (a) dissolving or dispersing a catalytic metal precursor in a liquid to form a precursor solution, (b) bringing said precursor solution in contact with surfaces of said graphene sheets and surfaces of said Si particles, (c) removing said liquid; and (d) chemically or thermally con-verting said catalytic metal precursor to said catalyst metal coating or nanoparticles.
The process of claim 1, wherein said procedure of exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitro-gen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of reducing a length of said Si nanowires to a range from 20 nm to 1 µm.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/graphene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a precursor mixture of multiple Si particles, graphene sheets, a catalytic metal precursor, and an optional blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment, from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to thermally convert said catalytic metal precursor to a coating or nanoparticles of B₂ a catalyst metal deposited on surfaces of Si particles and/or surfaces of graphene sheets, to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a graphene foam or a porous graphene struc-ture, and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5, and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 95% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in a powder mass form.
The process of claim 26, wherein said step (A) of preparing said precursor mixture is conducted by (a) dis-persing said Si particles, graphene sheets, catalytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent in a liquid to form a precursor dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said precursor dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of precursor mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of precursor mixture to form a dried layer of precursor mixture, containing said Si particles, graphene sheets, cata-lytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent that are well-dispersed together.
The process of claim 26, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is a salt or organo-metal molecule of a transition metal selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is selected from copper nitrate, nickel nitrate, cobalt nitrate, manganese nitrate, iron nitrate, titanium nitrate, aluminum nitrate, copper acetate, nickel acetate, cobalt acetate, manganese acetate, iron acetate, titanium acetate, aluminum acetate, copper sulfate, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, iron sulfate, titanium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, copper phosphate, nickel phos-phate, cobalt phosphate, manganese phosphate, iron phos-phate, titanium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, copper hydroxide, nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, manganese hydroxide, iron hydroxide, titanium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, copper carboxylate, nickel carboxylate, cobalt carboxylate, manganese carboxylate, iron carboxylate, tita-nium carboxylate, aluminum carboxylate, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said procedure of exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 0.2 µm or from 0.2 µm to 5 µm.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 50 nm and a length from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an B₂ optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of thermally converting said organic or polymeric material into a carbon material which is in electronic contact with said Si nanowires and/or said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, wherein said suspension further contains a conductive material selected from a con-ducting polymer, carbon nanotube, carbon nanofiber, carbon black, coke, acetylene black, activated carbon, expanded graphite flake, artificial graphite particle, natural graphite particle, or a combination thereof and said core further contains said conductive material. ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
lithium-ion battery anode electrode
lithium-ion battery
Materials described outside the worked examples.
Si particles
Si
graphene sheets
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 900–7200 s | — |
Thickness |
Patents and literature cited by this patent (applicant and examiner references).
Cited patents · 15
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 11,641,012 B2Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 Schematic illustrating the notion that, in a prior art anode, expansion of Si particles, upon lithium intercalation, can lead to pulverization of Si …
FIG. 2 Schematic of a mass of graphene foam-protected Si nanowires, which may be mechanically broken to obtain a powder mass of a graphene/Si nanowire hybrid …
FIG. 3(B) Schematic of another lithium-ion battery; the anode layer being composed of particles of an anode active 35 material, a conductive additive (not …
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
FIG. 5 Cycling test results of two lithium-ion cells: The first battery cell contains a Si nanowire/graphene hybrid, wherein Si nanowires (diameter of 60-90 nm) …
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
FIG. 7 Cycling test results of 3 lithium-ion cells: first cell containing original Si particles and graphene sheets simply mixed together (no Si nanowires) as …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/gra-phene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a mixture of catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and a blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a particle diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and said catalyst metal is in a form of nanoparticles having a diameter from 0.5 nm to 100 nm or a thin coating having a thickness from 0.5 nm to 100 nm deposited on surfaces of said Si particles and on surfaces of graphene sheets, and wherein said Si particles contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment, including a temperature from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a porous graphene structure or a graphene foam and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 2 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5 and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to mechanically break said graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanow-ires to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in 35 a powder mass form.
The process of claim 1, wherein said step (A) of preparing said mixture is conducted by (a) dispersing said catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and optional blowing agent in a liquid medium to form a graphene/Si dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said graphene/Si dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of graphene/Si mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of graphene/Si mixture to form a dried layer of said mixture.
The process of claim 1, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets contain a pristine graphene material having less than 0.01% by weight of non-carbon elements or a non-pristine gra-phene material having 0.01% to 50% by weight of noncarbon elements, wherein said non-pristine graphene is selected from graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated gra-phene, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein surfaces of said graphene sheets are also deposited with said catalyst metal and Si nanowires are also grown and emanated from said graphene surfaces.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets are selected from a single-layer sheet or few-layer platelet of pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemi-cally functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof, wherein few layer is defined as less than 10 layers of graphene planes.
The process of claim 1, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal-coated Si particles are produced by a step of depositing a catalyst metal on Si particle surfaces by a procedure of physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, sput-tering, plasma deposition, laser ablation, plasma spraying, ultrasonic spraying, printing, electrochemical deposition, electrode plating, electrodeless plating, chemical plating, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is deposited on Si and graphene sheet surfaces by a procedure including (a) dissolving or dispersing a catalytic metal precursor in a liquid to form a precursor solution, (b) bringing said precursor solution in contact with surfaces of said graphene sheets and surfaces of said Si particles, (c) removing said liquid; and (d) chemically or thermally con-verting said catalytic metal precursor to said catalyst metal coating or nanoparticles.
The process of claim 1, wherein said procedure of exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitro-gen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of reducing a length of said Si nanowires to a range from 20 nm to 1 µm.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/graphene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a precursor mixture of multiple Si particles, graphene sheets, a catalytic metal precursor, and an optional blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment, from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to thermally convert said catalytic metal precursor to a coating or nanoparticles of B₂ a catalyst metal deposited on surfaces of Si particles and/or surfaces of graphene sheets, to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a graphene foam or a porous graphene struc-ture, and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5, and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 95% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in a powder mass form.
The process of claim 26, wherein said step (A) of preparing said precursor mixture is conducted by (a) dis-persing said Si particles, graphene sheets, catalytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent in a liquid to form a precursor dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said precursor dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of precursor mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of precursor mixture to form a dried layer of precursor mixture, containing said Si particles, graphene sheets, cata-lytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent that are well-dispersed together.
The process of claim 26, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is a salt or organo-metal molecule of a transition metal selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is selected from copper nitrate, nickel nitrate, cobalt nitrate, manganese nitrate, iron nitrate, titanium nitrate, aluminum nitrate, copper acetate, nickel acetate, cobalt acetate, manganese acetate, iron acetate, titanium acetate, aluminum acetate, copper sulfate, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, iron sulfate, titanium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, copper phosphate, nickel phos-phate, cobalt phosphate, manganese phosphate, iron phos-phate, titanium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, copper hydroxide, nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, manganese hydroxide, iron hydroxide, titanium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, copper carboxylate, nickel carboxylate, cobalt carboxylate, manganese carboxylate, iron carboxylate, tita-nium carboxylate, aluminum carboxylate, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said procedure of exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 0.2 µm or from 0.2 µm to 5 µm.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 50 nm and a length from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an B₂ optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of thermally converting said organic or polymeric material into a carbon material which is in electronic contact with said Si nanowires and/or said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, wherein said suspension further contains a conductive material selected from a con-ducting polymer, carbon nanotube, carbon nanofiber, carbon black, coke, acetylene black, activated carbon, expanded graphite flake, artificial graphite particle, natural graphite particle, or a combination thereof and said core further contains said conductive material. ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
lithium-ion battery anode electrode
lithium-ion battery
Materials described outside the worked examples.
Si particles
Si
graphene sheets
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 900–7200 s | — |
Thickness |
Patents and literature cited by this patent (applicant and examiner references).
Cited patents · 15
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 11,641,012 B2Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 Schematic illustrating the notion that, in a prior art anode, expansion of Si particles, upon lithium intercalation, can lead to pulverization of Si …
FIG. 2 Schematic of a mass of graphene foam-protected Si nanowires, which may be mechanically broken to obtain a powder mass of a graphene/Si nanowire hybrid …
FIG. 3(B) Schematic of another lithium-ion battery; the anode layer being composed of particles of an anode active 35 material, a conductive additive (not …
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
FIG. 5 Cycling test results of two lithium-ion cells: The first battery cell contains a Si nanowire/graphene hybrid, wherein Si nanowires (diameter of 60-90 nm) …
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
FIG. 7 Cycling test results of 3 lithium-ion cells: first cell containing original Si particles and graphene sheets simply mixed together (no Si nanowires) as …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/gra-phene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a mixture of catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and a blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a particle diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and said catalyst metal is in a form of nanoparticles having a diameter from 0.5 nm to 100 nm or a thin coating having a thickness from 0.5 nm to 100 nm deposited on surfaces of said Si particles and on surfaces of graphene sheets, and wherein said Si particles contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment, including a temperature from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a porous graphene structure or a graphene foam and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 2 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5 and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to mechanically break said graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanow-ires to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in 35 a powder mass form.
The process of claim 1, wherein said step (A) of preparing said mixture is conducted by (a) dispersing said catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and optional blowing agent in a liquid medium to form a graphene/Si dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said graphene/Si dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of graphene/Si mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of graphene/Si mixture to form a dried layer of said mixture.
The process of claim 1, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets contain a pristine graphene material having less than 0.01% by weight of non-carbon elements or a non-pristine gra-phene material having 0.01% to 50% by weight of noncarbon elements, wherein said non-pristine graphene is selected from graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated gra-phene, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein surfaces of said graphene sheets are also deposited with said catalyst metal and Si nanowires are also grown and emanated from said graphene surfaces.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets are selected from a single-layer sheet or few-layer platelet of pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemi-cally functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof, wherein few layer is defined as less than 10 layers of graphene planes.
The process of claim 1, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal-coated Si particles are produced by a step of depositing a catalyst metal on Si particle surfaces by a procedure of physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, sput-tering, plasma deposition, laser ablation, plasma spraying, ultrasonic spraying, printing, electrochemical deposition, electrode plating, electrodeless plating, chemical plating, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is deposited on Si and graphene sheet surfaces by a procedure including (a) dissolving or dispersing a catalytic metal precursor in a liquid to form a precursor solution, (b) bringing said precursor solution in contact with surfaces of said graphene sheets and surfaces of said Si particles, (c) removing said liquid; and (d) chemically or thermally con-verting said catalytic metal precursor to said catalyst metal coating or nanoparticles.
The process of claim 1, wherein said procedure of exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitro-gen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of reducing a length of said Si nanowires to a range from 20 nm to 1 µm.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/graphene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a precursor mixture of multiple Si particles, graphene sheets, a catalytic metal precursor, and an optional blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment, from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to thermally convert said catalytic metal precursor to a coating or nanoparticles of B₂ a catalyst metal deposited on surfaces of Si particles and/or surfaces of graphene sheets, to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a graphene foam or a porous graphene struc-ture, and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5, and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 95% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in a powder mass form.
The process of claim 26, wherein said step (A) of preparing said precursor mixture is conducted by (a) dis-persing said Si particles, graphene sheets, catalytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent in a liquid to form a precursor dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said precursor dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of precursor mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of precursor mixture to form a dried layer of precursor mixture, containing said Si particles, graphene sheets, cata-lytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent that are well-dispersed together.
The process of claim 26, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is a salt or organo-metal molecule of a transition metal selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is selected from copper nitrate, nickel nitrate, cobalt nitrate, manganese nitrate, iron nitrate, titanium nitrate, aluminum nitrate, copper acetate, nickel acetate, cobalt acetate, manganese acetate, iron acetate, titanium acetate, aluminum acetate, copper sulfate, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, iron sulfate, titanium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, copper phosphate, nickel phos-phate, cobalt phosphate, manganese phosphate, iron phos-phate, titanium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, copper hydroxide, nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, manganese hydroxide, iron hydroxide, titanium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, copper carboxylate, nickel carboxylate, cobalt carboxylate, manganese carboxylate, iron carboxylate, tita-nium carboxylate, aluminum carboxylate, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said procedure of exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 0.2 µm or from 0.2 µm to 5 µm.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 50 nm and a length from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an B₂ optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of thermally converting said organic or polymeric material into a carbon material which is in electronic contact with said Si nanowires and/or said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, wherein said suspension further contains a conductive material selected from a con-ducting polymer, carbon nanotube, carbon nanofiber, carbon black, coke, acetylene black, activated carbon, expanded graphite flake, artificial graphite particle, natural graphite particle, or a combination thereof and said core further contains said conductive material. ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
lithium-ion battery anode electrode
lithium-ion battery
Materials described outside the worked examples.
Si particles
Si
graphene sheets
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 900–7200 s | — |
Thickness |
Patents and literature cited by this patent (applicant and examiner references).
Cited patents · 15
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 11,641,012 B2Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 Schematic illustrating the notion that, in a prior art anode, expansion of Si particles, upon lithium intercalation, can lead to pulverization of Si …
FIG. 2 Schematic of a mass of graphene foam-protected Si nanowires, which may be mechanically broken to obtain a powder mass of a graphene/Si nanowire hybrid …
FIG. 3(B) Schematic of another lithium-ion battery; the anode layer being composed of particles of an anode active 35 material, a conductive additive (not …
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
FIG. 5 Cycling test results of two lithium-ion cells: The first battery cell contains a Si nanowire/graphene hybrid, wherein Si nanowires (diameter of 60-90 nm) …
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
FIG. 7 Cycling test results of 3 lithium-ion cells: first cell containing original Si particles and graphene sheets simply mixed together (no Si nanowires) as …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/gra-phene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a mixture of catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and a blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a particle diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and said catalyst metal is in a form of nanoparticles having a diameter from 0.5 nm to 100 nm or a thin coating having a thickness from 0.5 nm to 100 nm deposited on surfaces of said Si particles and on surfaces of graphene sheets, and wherein said Si particles contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment, including a temperature from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a porous graphene structure or a graphene foam and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 2 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5 and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to mechanically break said graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanow-ires to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in 35 a powder mass form.
The process of claim 1, wherein said step (A) of preparing said mixture is conducted by (a) dispersing said catalyst metal-coated Si particles, graphene sheets, and optional blowing agent in a liquid medium to form a graphene/Si dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said graphene/Si dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of graphene/Si mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of graphene/Si mixture to form a dried layer of said mixture.
The process of claim 1, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets contain a pristine graphene material having less than 0.01% by weight of non-carbon elements or a non-pristine gra-phene material having 0.01% to 50% by weight of noncarbon elements, wherein said non-pristine graphene is selected from graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated gra-phene, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein surfaces of said graphene sheets are also deposited with said catalyst metal and Si nanowires are also grown and emanated from said graphene surfaces.
The process of claim 1, wherein said graphene sheets are selected from a single-layer sheet or few-layer platelet of pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, boron-doped graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene, chemi-cally functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof, wherein few layer is defined as less than 10 layers of graphene planes.
The process of claim 1, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal-coated Si particles are produced by a step of depositing a catalyst metal on Si particle surfaces by a procedure of physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, sput-tering, plasma deposition, laser ablation, plasma spraying, ultrasonic spraying, printing, electrochemical deposition, electrode plating, electrodeless plating, chemical plating, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst metal is deposited on Si and graphene sheet surfaces by a procedure including (a) dissolving or dispersing a catalytic metal precursor in a liquid to form a precursor solution, (b) bringing said precursor solution in contact with surfaces of said graphene sheets and surfaces of said Si particles, (c) removing said liquid; and (d) chemically or thermally con-verting said catalytic metal precursor to said catalyst metal coating or nanoparticles.
The process of claim 1, wherein said procedure of exposing said mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitro-gen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of reducing a length of said Si nanowires to a range from 20 nm to 1 µm.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
A process for producing a silicon (Si) nanowire/graphene hybrid material as a lithium-ion battery anode active material, said process comprising: (A) preparing a precursor mixture of multiple Si particles, graphene sheets, a catalytic metal precursor, and an optional blowing agent, wherein said Si particles have a diameter from 50 nm to 50 µm and contain pure Si having at least 99.9% by weight of Si element or a Si alloy or mixture having from 70% to 99.9% by weight of Si therein; (B) exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment, from 100° C. to 2,500° C., for a period of time sufficient to thermally convert said catalytic metal precursor to a coating or nanoparticles of B₂ a catalyst metal deposited on surfaces of Si particles and/or surfaces of graphene sheets, to induce volatile gas molecules from said graphene sheets or to activate said blowing agent for producing a graphene foam or a porous graphene struc-ture, and to enable a catalyst metal-catalyzed growth of multiple Si nanowires emanating from said Si particles as a feed material to form an amount of graphene foam-protected or porous graphene structure-enclosed Si nanowires; wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 100 nm, a length from 50 nm to 20 µm, and a length-to-diameter aspect ratio of at least 5, and said Si nanowires are in an amount from 0.5% to 95% by weight based on the total weight of said graphene and said Si nanowires combined; and (C) operating a mechanical breaking means to produce said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material in a powder mass form.
The process of claim 26, wherein said step (A) of preparing said precursor mixture is conducted by (a) dis-persing said Si particles, graphene sheets, catalytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent in a liquid to form a precursor dispersion; and (b) dispensing and depositing said precursor dispersion onto a surface of a supporting substrate to form a wet layer of precursor mixture and partially or completely removing said liquid medium from the wet layer of precursor mixture to form a dried layer of precursor mixture, containing said Si particles, graphene sheets, cata-lytic metal precursor, and optional blowing agent that are well-dispersed together.
The process of claim 26, wherein said mechanical breaking means includes air jet mill, high-shear mixer/disperser, ultrasonicator, vibratory ball mill, planetary ball mill, high energy mill, basket mill, agitator ball mill, cryo-genic ball mill, microball mill, tumbler ball mill, continuous ball mill, stirred ball mill, pressurized ball mill, attritor, plasma-assisted ball mill, freezer mill, vibratory sieve, bead mill, nanobead mill, ultrasonic homogenizer mill, centrifu-gal planetary mixer, vacuum ball mill, or resonant acoustic mixer.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is a salt or organo-metal molecule of a transition metal selected from Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said catalytic metal precursor is selected from copper nitrate, nickel nitrate, cobalt nitrate, manganese nitrate, iron nitrate, titanium nitrate, aluminum nitrate, copper acetate, nickel acetate, cobalt acetate, manganese acetate, iron acetate, titanium acetate, aluminum acetate, copper sulfate, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, iron sulfate, titanium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, copper phosphate, nickel phos-phate, cobalt phosphate, manganese phosphate, iron phos-phate, titanium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, copper hydroxide, nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, manganese hydroxide, iron hydroxide, titanium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, copper carboxylate, nickel carboxylate, cobalt carboxylate, manganese carboxylate, iron carboxylate, tita-nium carboxylate, aluminum carboxylate, or a combination thereof.
The process of claim 26, wherein said procedure of exposing said precursor mixture to a high temperature environment is conducted in a protective atmosphere of an inert gas, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, a mixture thereof, or in a vacuum.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si particles have a diameter or thickness from 50 nm to 0.2 µm or from 0.2 µm to 5 µm.
The process of claim 26, wherein said Si nanowires have a diameter from 5 nm to 50 nm and a length from 50 nm to 20 µm.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of separating Si nanowires from said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of mixing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material with a binder resin and an optional conductive additive to make an anode electrode, which is optionally deposited on a surface of a current collector.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of dispersing said Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material and an B₂ optional organic or polymeric material in a liquid medium to obtain a suspension and then converting said suspension into multiple secondary particles or particulates, wherein at least one of said particulates comprises a core and a shell embrac-ing said core wherein said core comprises a single or a plurality of graphene sheets and a plurality of Si nanowires and the graphene sheets and the Si nanowires are mutually bonded or agglomerated into said core and said shell com-prises one or a plurality of graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, further comprising a step of thermally converting said organic or polymeric material into a carbon material which is in electronic contact with said Si nanowires and/or said graphene sheets.
The process of claim 26, wherein said suspension further contains a conductive material selected from a con-ducting polymer, carbon nanotube, carbon nanofiber, carbon black, coke, acetylene black, activated carbon, expanded graphite flake, artificial graphite particle, natural graphite particle, or a combination thereof and said core further contains said conductive material. ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
lithium-ion battery anode electrode
lithium-ion battery
Materials described outside the worked examples.
Si particles
Si
graphene sheets
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG. 4(B) SEM image showing Si nanowires emanated from graphene surfaces; these Si nanowires being much smaller in diameter as compared to those directly grown …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 900–7200 s | — |
Thickness |
Patents and literature cited by this patent (applicant and examiner references).
Cited patents · 15
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
catalyst metal
Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material
graphene foam/porous graphene structure
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
| — |
Temperature | 100–500 °C | — |
Thickness | 200–3000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–800 µm | — |
Duration | 48–72 hours | — |
Thickness | 10–500 µm | — |
Thickness | 100–750 µm | — |
Duration | 5–16 hours | — |
Thickness | 0.6–2.5 µm | — |
Temperature | 800–1200 °C | — |
Duration | 48–96 hours | — |
Duration | 10–100 minutes | — |
Thickness | 1–6 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 80–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 700–2500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–10 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–1500 °C | — |
Duration | 0.5–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 350–500 °C | — |
Temperature | 900–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 200–350 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–12 µm | — |
Thickness | 0.3–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 1.5–10 µm | — |
Thickness | 60–90 nm | — |
Thickness | 6–28 nm | — |
— | 300–500 W | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 µm | — |
Thickness | 50–50000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 100–2500 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–20000 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2500 °C | — |
Temperature | 400–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 500–1200 °C | — |
Thickness | 5–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–30000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–20000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–2000 nm | — |
Temperature | 700–1000 °C | — |
Thickness | 0.2–20 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–40 nm | — |
Temperature | 150–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–10 nm | — |
Thickness | 3–5 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 50 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 30 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 5 nm | — |
Temperature | ≤ 2500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 µm | — |
Temperature | ≥ 80 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 1 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 300 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 500 °C | — |
Thickness | 1000–200000000 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–1000 nm | — |
Thickness | 5–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–5 µm | — |
Thickness | 200–5000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–10 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2000 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–500 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 10–30 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 2–50 µm | — |
Duration | 60–18000 s | — |
Thickness | 2–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–65 µm | — |
Thickness | 10–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–1500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 mm | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 µm | — |
Cited non-patent literature · 3
catalyst metal
Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material
graphene foam/porous graphene structure
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
| — |
Temperature | 100–500 °C | — |
Thickness | 200–3000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–800 µm | — |
Duration | 48–72 hours | — |
Thickness | 10–500 µm | — |
Thickness | 100–750 µm | — |
Duration | 5–16 hours | — |
Thickness | 0.6–2.5 µm | — |
Temperature | 800–1200 °C | — |
Duration | 48–96 hours | — |
Duration | 10–100 minutes | — |
Thickness | 1–6 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 80–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 700–2500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–10 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–1500 °C | — |
Duration | 0.5–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 350–500 °C | — |
Temperature | 900–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 200–350 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–12 µm | — |
Thickness | 0.3–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 1.5–10 µm | — |
Thickness | 60–90 nm | — |
Thickness | 6–28 nm | — |
— | 300–500 W | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 µm | — |
Thickness | 50–50000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 100–2500 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–20000 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2500 °C | — |
Temperature | 400–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 500–1200 °C | — |
Thickness | 5–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–30000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–20000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–2000 nm | — |
Temperature | 700–1000 °C | — |
Thickness | 0.2–20 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–40 nm | — |
Temperature | 150–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–10 nm | — |
Thickness | 3–5 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 50 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 30 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 5 nm | — |
Temperature | ≤ 2500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 µm | — |
Temperature | ≥ 80 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 1 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 300 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 500 °C | — |
Thickness | 1000–200000000 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–1000 nm | — |
Thickness | 5–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–5 µm | — |
Thickness | 200–5000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–10 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2000 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–500 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 10–30 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 2–50 µm | — |
Duration | 60–18000 s | — |
Thickness | 2–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–65 µm | — |
Thickness | 10–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–1500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 mm | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 µm | — |
Cited non-patent literature · 3
catalyst metal
Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material
graphene foam/porous graphene structure
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
| — |
Temperature | 100–500 °C | — |
Thickness | 200–3000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–800 µm | — |
Duration | 48–72 hours | — |
Thickness | 10–500 µm | — |
Thickness | 100–750 µm | — |
Duration | 5–16 hours | — |
Thickness | 0.6–2.5 µm | — |
Temperature | 800–1200 °C | — |
Duration | 48–96 hours | — |
Duration | 10–100 minutes | — |
Thickness | 1–6 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 80–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 700–2500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–10 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–1500 °C | — |
Duration | 0.5–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 350–500 °C | — |
Temperature | 900–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 200–350 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–12 µm | — |
Thickness | 0.3–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 1.5–10 µm | — |
Thickness | 60–90 nm | — |
Thickness | 6–28 nm | — |
— | 300–500 W | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 µm | — |
Thickness | 50–50000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 100–2500 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–20000 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2500 °C | — |
Temperature | 400–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 500–1200 °C | — |
Thickness | 5–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–30000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–20000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–2000 nm | — |
Temperature | 700–1000 °C | — |
Thickness | 0.2–20 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–40 nm | — |
Temperature | 150–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–10 nm | — |
Thickness | 3–5 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 50 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 30 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 5 nm | — |
Temperature | ≤ 2500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 µm | — |
Temperature | ≥ 80 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 1 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 300 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 500 °C | — |
Thickness | 1000–200000000 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–1000 nm | — |
Thickness | 5–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–5 µm | — |
Thickness | 200–5000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–10 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2000 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–500 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 10–30 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 2–50 µm | — |
Duration | 60–18000 s | — |
Thickness | 2–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–65 µm | — |
Thickness | 10–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–1500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 mm | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 µm | — |
Cited non-patent literature · 3
catalyst metal
Si nanowire/graphene hybrid material
graphene foam/porous graphene structure
FIG. 6 Ragone plots (power density vs. energy density) of three lithium-ion cells: first cell containing an anode layer of graphene foam containing original Si …
| — |
Temperature | 100–500 °C | — |
Thickness | 200–3000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–800 µm | — |
Duration | 48–72 hours | — |
Thickness | 10–500 µm | — |
Thickness | 100–750 µm | — |
Duration | 5–16 hours | — |
Thickness | 0.6–2.5 µm | — |
Temperature | 800–1200 °C | — |
Duration | 48–96 hours | — |
Duration | 10–100 minutes | — |
Thickness | 1–6 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 80–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 700–2500 °C | — |
Duration | 1–10 hours | — |
Temperature | 750–1500 °C | — |
Duration | 0.5–5 hours | — |
Temperature | 350–500 °C | — |
Temperature | 900–950 °C | — |
Temperature | 200–350 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–12 µm | — |
Thickness | 0.3–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 1.5–10 µm | — |
Thickness | 60–90 nm | — |
Thickness | 6–28 nm | — |
— | 300–500 W | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 µm | — |
Thickness | 50–50000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 100–2500 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–20000 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2500 °C | — |
Temperature | 400–1500 °C | — |
Temperature | 500–1200 °C | — |
Thickness | 5–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–30000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–20000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 100–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 200–2000 nm | — |
Temperature | 700–1000 °C | — |
Thickness | 0.2–20 µm | — |
Temperature | 80–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–40 nm | — |
Temperature | 150–300 °C | — |
Thickness | 2–10 nm | — |
Thickness | 3–5 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 50 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 30 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 1 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 5 nm | — |
Temperature | ≤ 2500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 µm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 20 µm | — |
Temperature | ≥ 80 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 1 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 300 °C | — |
Temperature | ≥ 500 °C | — |
Thickness | 1000–200000000 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–1000 nm | — |
Thickness | 5–100 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–5 µm | — |
Thickness | 200–5000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.5–10 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–2000 °C | — |
Thickness | 10–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–500 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–200 nm | — |
Thickness | 10–30 nm | — |
Thickness | 20–10000 nm | — |
Thickness | 0.2–2 µm | — |
Thickness | 2–50 µm | — |
Duration | 60–18000 s | — |
Thickness | 2–50 nm | — |
Thickness | 50–65 µm | — |
Thickness | 10–100 nm | — |
Temperature | 300–1500 °C | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 mm | — |
Thickness | ≥ 1 µm | — |
Cited non-patent literature · 3
