Sumitomo Metal Mining Company, Ltd.

Takehide Honma

Koji Yamaji

Ryozo Ushio

Haruki Kaneda

Takaaki Ando

Takuma Nakamura

Kensaku Mori

Masanori Takagi

Satoshi Yoshio

Provided is a cathode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery that improves the cycling characteristic and high-temperature storability without impairing the charge/discharge capacity and the output characteristics. A nickel cobalt containing composite hydroxide is obtained by using a batch type crystallization method in which a raw material aqueous solution that includes Ni, Co and Mg is supplied in an inert atmosphere to a reaction aqueous solution that is controlled so that the temperature is within the range 45° C. to 55° C., the pH value is within the range 10.8 to 11.8 at a reference liquid temperature of 25° C., and the ammonium-ion concentration is within the range 8 g/L to 12 g/L. An Al-coated composite hydroxide that is expressed by the general formula: NiCoAlMg(OH)(where, 0.05≤x≤0.20, 0.01≤y≤0.06, and 0.01≤z≤0.03) is obtained by mixing a slurry that includes the nickel cobalt containing composite hydroxide with a coating aqueous solution that includes Al to form a mixed aqueous solution, and coating the secondary particles with a coating film that includes Al or an Al compound. A cathode active material that is configured so that component elements that include Al are uniformly dispersed in the secondary particles is synthesized using the Al-coated composite hydroxide as a precursor.

Aluminum-coated nickel cobalt containing composite hydroxide and method for manufacturing same, cathode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery and method for manufacturing same, and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery

Provided are a nickel-manganese composite hydroxide capable of producing a secondary battery having a high particle fillability and excellent battery characteristics when used as a precursor of a positive electrode active material and a method for producing the same. A nickel-manganese composite hydroxide is represented by General Formula: NiMnM(OH)and contains a secondary particle formed of a plurality of flocculated primary particles. The primary particles have an aspect ratio of at least 3, and at least some of the primary particles are disposed radially from a central part of the secondary particle toward an outer circumference thereof. The secondary particle has a ratio I(101)/I(001) of a diffraction peak intensity I(101) of a 101 plane to a peak intensity I(001) of a 001 plane, measured by an X-ray diffraction measurement, of up to 0.15.

Nickel manganese composite hydroxide and method for producing same, positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery and method for producing same, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery

Provided is a cathode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery that improves the cycling characteristic and high-temperature storability without impairing the charge/discharge capacity and the output characteristics. A nickel cobalt containing composite hydroxide is obtained by using a batch type crystallization method in which a raw material aqueous solution that includes Ni, Co and Mg is supplied in an inert atmosphere to a reaction aqueous solution that is controlled so that the temperature is within the range 45&#xb0; C. to 55&#xb0; C., the pH value is within the range 10.8 to 11.8 at a reference liquid temperature of 25&#xb0; C., and the ammonium-ion concentration is within the range 8 g/L to 12 g/L. An Al-coated composite hydroxide that is expressed by the general formula: NiCoAlMg(OH)(where, 0.05&#x2264;x&#x2264;0.20, 0.01&#x2264;y&#x2264;0.06, and 0.01&#x2264;z&#x2264;0.03) is obtained by mixing a slurry that includes the nickel cobalt containing composite hydroxide with a coating aqueous solution that includes Al to form a mixed aqueous solution, and coating the secondary particles with a coating film that includes Al or an Al compound. A cathode active material that is configured so that component elements that include Al are uniformly dispersed in the secondary particles is synthesized using the Al-coated composite hydroxide as a precursor.

A positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery contains lithium nickel cobalt zinc composite oxide represented by general formula (1): LiNiCoZnMO(0.95&#x2264;w&#x2264;1.10, 0.05&#x2264;x&#x2264;0.3, 0.005&#x2264;y&#x2264;0.08, and 0&#x2264;z&#x2264;0.3, where M is at least one metal element selected from the group consisting of Mg, Al, Ti, Mn, Fe, and Cu), wherein the lithium nickel cobalt zinc composite oxide has a form of secondary particles each corresponding to an aggregation of primary particles of hexagonal lithium-containing composite oxide with a layered structure, contains zinc oxide on at least a part of a surface of the primary particles and/or a surface of the secondary particles, and has a (003)-plane crystallite diameter of 100 nm or larger and 160 nm or smaller, the diameter being obtained by X-ray diffraction and the Scherrer equation.

Positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, method for producing the same, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery including the same

The object of the present invention is to improve the roundness of nickel-manganese composite hydroxide particles obtained by a crystallization process, and to improve the filling characteristic of cathode active material produced using the nickel-manganese composite hydroxide particles as a precursor. A reaction aqueous solution is formed by supplying a raw material aqueous solution including at least Ni and Mn, an aqueous solution including an ammonium-ion donor, and an alkali solution into a reaction tank, and mixing, then nickel-manganese composite hydroxide particles are crystallized. When doing this, the oxygen concentration inside the reaction tank is controlled to be 3.0% by volume or greater, the temperature of the reaction aqueous solution is controlled to be 35&#xb0; C. to 60&#xb0; C., and the nickel-ion concentration is controlled to be 1,000 mg/L or greater. As a result, nickel-manganese composite hydroxide particles are obtained that include secondary particles formed by an aggregation of plural primary particles and expressed by the general formula: NiMnM(OH)(where 0.05&#x2264;x&#x2264;0.95, 0.05&#x2264;y&#x2264;0.95, 0&#x2264;t&#x2264;0.20, x+y+t=1, 0&#x2264;&#x3b1;&#x2264;0.5, and M is one or more elements selected from among Co, Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta and W); and the average value of the roundness of cathode active material having a particle size that is 70% the average particle size or more is 0.82 or greater, and the tap density is 2.20 g/cmor greater.

Nickel-manganese composite hydroxide particles, method for producing same, cathode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, method for producing same, and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery

A positive electrode active material is provided that has a high capacity, a low irreversible capacity, an excellent initial charge/discharge efficiency, and excellent rate characteristics. This positive electrode active material comprises a hexagonal lithium nickel complex oxide having a layer structure and represented by the general formula LiNiCoMO(0.98&#x2264;x&#x2264;1.04, 0.25&#x2264;y&#x2264;0.40, 0&#x2264;z&#x2264;0.07, and M is at least one element selected from Al, Ti, Mn, Ga, Mg, and Nb), wherein a lithium occupancy rate in a lithium main layer as obtained by Rietveld analysis from the x-ray diffraction pattern is at least 98.7%, and a crystallite diameter as calculated from the peak for the (003) plane in x-ray diffraction is 50 to 300 nm.

Positive electrode active substance for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary cell, method for producing same, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary cell using positive electrode active substance

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Niihama, Japan

Takehide Honma