Nanogram Corporation

Envia Systems, Inc.

Zenlabs Energy, Inc.

Neophotonics Corporation

Ionblox, Inc.

Google Inc.

Greatbatch Ltd.

Eocell Limited

Nanagram Corporation

Nanogram Devices Corporation

Sujeet Kumar

Herman Adrian Lopez

Xiangxin Bi

Subramanian Venkatachalam

James T Gardner

Nobuyuki Kambe

Charan Masarapu

Ronald James Mosso

Haixia Deng

Yogesh Kumar Anguchamy

Yongbong Han

Craig R Horne

Shivkumar Chiruvolu

Shabab Amiruddin

James P Buckley

Bing Li

Hariklia Dris Reitz

Benjamin M Chaloner-Gill

William E McGovern

Sanjeev Sharma

Eric Euvrard

Deepak Kumaar Kandasamy Karthikeyan

David Brent MacQueen

Charles A Bowling

Pierre J DeMascarel

Christian C Honeker

Jesse S Jur

James A Gilliam

Ronald M Cornell

Seung M Lim

Deepak Kumaar K Karthikeyan

Vince Pham

Deepak Kumaar Karthikeyan

Yigal Dov Blum

Michael A Bryan

Elizabeth Anne Nevis

Michael Edward Chapin

Sardar Hyat Khan

Nguyen Tran The Huy

Xianyu Iris Li

Pedro A Hernández Gallegos

Pedro A Hernandez-Gallegos

Yu K Fortunak

Yigal Do Blum

Ramesh C Bhardwaj

Deepak Srivastava

Tai Sup Hwang

Swapnil J Dalavi

Robert B Lynch

Shivkumar Chiruvolo

Shivkumar Chiruvol

Shoufen Yang

Swapnil Dalavi

Subramaninan Venkatachalam

Hang Shi

Shivkumar Chiruvolua

Yezi Bei

Santhanam Raman

High capacity silicon based anode active materials are described for lithium ion batteries. These materials are shown to be effective in combination with high capacity lithium rich cathode active materials. Supplemental lithium is shown to improve the cycling performance and reduce irreversible capacity loss for at least certain silicon based active materials. In particular silicon based active materials can be formed in composites with electrically conductive coatings, such as pyrolytic carbon coatings or metal coatings, and composites can also be formed with other electrically conductive carbon components, such as carbon nanofibers and carbon nanoparticles. Additional alloys with silicon are explored.

Electrodes and lithium ion cells with high capacity anode materials

Silicon oxide based materials, including composites with various electrical conductive compositions, are formulated into desirable anodes. The anodes can be effectively combined into lithium ion batteries with high capacity cathode materials. In some formulations, supplemental lithium can be used to stabilize cycling as well as to reduce effects of first cycle irreversible capacity loss. Batteries are described with surprisingly good cycling properties with good specific capacities with respect to both cathode active weights and anode active weights.

Silicon oxide based high capacity anode materials for lithium ion batteries

A composite coated form of lithium cobalt oxide is described that can achieve improved cycling at higher voltages. Liquid phase and combined liquid and solid phase coating processes are described to effectively form the composite coated powders. The improved cycling positive electrode materials can be effectively combined with either graphitic carbon negative electrode active materials or silicon based high capacity negative electrode active materials. Improved battery designs can achieve very high volumetric energy densities in practical battery formats and with reasonable cycling properties.

Positive electrode active materials with composite coatings for high energy density secondary batteries and corresponding processes

Improved negative electrodes can comprise a silicon based active material blended with graphite to provide more stable cycling at high energy densities. In some embodiments, the negative electrodes comprise a blend of polyimide binder mixed with a more elastic polymer binder with a nanoscale carbon conductive additive. The silicon-based blended graphite negative electrodes can be matched with positive electrodes comprising nickel rich lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides to form high energy density cells with good cycling properties.

Electrodes with silicon oxide active materials for lithium ion cells achieving high capacity, high energy density and long cycle life performance

Composite silicon based materials are described that are effective active materials for lithium ion batteries. The composite materials comprise processed, e.g., high energy mechanically milled, silicon suboxide and graphitic carbon in which at least a portion of the graphitic carbon is exfoliated into graphene sheets. The composite materials have a relatively large surface area, a high specific capacity against lithium, and good cycling with lithium metal oxide cathode materials. The composite materials can be effectively formed with a two-step high energy mechanical milling process. In the first milling process, silicon suboxide can be milled to form processed silicon suboxide, which may or may not exhibit crystalline silicon x-ray diffraction. In the second milling step, the processed silicon suboxide is milled with graphitic carbon. Composite materials with a high specific capacity and good cycling can be obtained in particular with balancing of the processing conditions.

Methods for forming silicon-silicon oxide-carbon composites for lithium ion cell electrodes

Improved high energy capacity designs for lithium ion batteries are described that take advantage of the properties of high specific capacity anode active compositions and high specific capacity cathode active compositions. In particular, specific electrode designs provide for achieving very high energy densities. Furthermore, the complex behavior of the active materials is used advantageously in a radical electrode balancing design that significantly reduced wasted electrode capacity in either electrode when cycling under realistic conditions of moderate to high discharge rates and/or over a reduced depth of discharge.

Battery cell engineering and design to reach high energy

Battery designs are provided that exhibit commercially suitable cycling properties for consumer electronics with silicon based active materials in the electrodes. The batteries can have stacked or wound electrodes and suitable electrode designs.

Lithium ion batteries with high capacity anode active material and good cycling for consumer electronics

Lithium ions cell designs with high capacity anode materials and high cell capacities

Supplemental lithium can be used to stabilize lithium ion batteries with lithium rich metal oxides as the positive electrode active material. Dramatic improvements in the specific capacity at long cycling have been obtained. The supplemental lithium can be provided with the negative electrode, or alternatively as a sacrificial material that is subsequently driven into the negative electrode active material. The supplemental lithium can be provided to the negative electrode active material prior to assembly of the battery using electrochemical deposition. The positive electrode active materials can comprise a layered-layered structure comprising manganese as well as nickel and/or cobalt.

Method of forming negative electrode active material, with lithium preloading

Composite silicon based materials are described that are effective active materials for lithium ion batteries. The composite materials comprise processed, e.g., high energy mechanically milled, silicon suboxide and graphitic carbon in which at least a portion of the graphitic carbon is exfoliated into graphene sheets. The composite materials have a relatively large surface area, a high specific capacity against lithium, and good cycling with lithium metal oxide cathode materials. The composite materials can be effectively formed with a two step high energy mechanical milling process. In the first milling process, silicon suboxide can be milled to form processed silicon suboxide, which may or may not exhibit crystalline silicon x-ray diffraction. In the second milling step, the processed silicon suboxide is milled with graphitic carbon. Composite materials with a high specific capacity and good cycling can be obtained in particular with balancing of the processing conditions.

Silicon-silicon oxide-carbon composites for lithium battery electrodes and methods for forming the composites

Battery designs with high capacity anode materials to achieve desirable cycling properties

Provided is a positive electrode for a lithium ion battery, the electrode comprising a nano-crystalline layered-layered composite structure of a material having the general formula xLiMO(1&#x2212;x)LiM'Oin which 0&#x3c;x&#x3c;1, where M&#x2032; is one or more ion with an average oxidation state of three and with at least one ion being Mn or Ni, and where M is one or more ions with an average oxidation state of four. Another aspect provides a positive electrode for a lithium ion battery, the electrode comprising a nano-crystalline layered-spinel composite structure of a material having the general formula xLiMnO. (1&#x2212;x)LiMnMOin which 0.5&#x3c;x&#x3c;1.0, 0&#x2264;y&#x3c;1, and where M is one or more metal cations. Also provided is the positive electrode which comprises a nano-coating of inert oxide, inert phosphate or inert fluoride on the nano-crystalline composite structure. Additional aspects provide a lithium ion battery comprising a negative electrode, an electrolyte and the positive electrode, as well as methods of preparing the positive electrode composite structure and the nano-coating of inert oxide, inert phosphate or inert fluoride.

Lithium batteries with nano-composite positive electrode material

Growing community of inventors

Newark, CA, United States of America

Sujeet Kumar