Curved two-dimensional nanocomposites for battery electrodes
AssigneeGeorgia Tech Research Corporation
InventorsGleb Nikolayevich Yushin, Kara Linn Evanoff, Oleksandr Magazynskyy
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Abstract
A battery electrode composition is provided that comprises a composite material comprising one or more nanocomposites. The nanocomposites may each comprise a planar substrate backbone having a curved geometrical structure, and an active material forming a continuous or substantially continuous film at least partially encasing the substrate backbone. To form an electrode from the electrode composition, a plurality of electrically-interconnected nanocomposites of this type may be aggregated into one or more three-dimensional agglomerations, such as substantially spherical or ellipsoidal granules.
Claims19
A battery electrode composition, comprising:
- a composite material comprising one or more nanocomposites, wherein the one or more nanocomposites each have a curved planar geometry and comprise:
- a planar substrate backbone having a curved geometrical structure with a curvature that is selected based upon a volume expansion characteristic of the active material, and
- an active material forming a non-porous, continuous or substantially continuous film at least partially encasing the substrate backbone, wherein the film has an average thickness on either side of the substrate backbone in the range of 1.4 nm to 200 nm, and wherein the active material stores metal ions within the film and is subject to volume changes greater than about 5% upon insertion or extraction of the metal ions,
- wherein the one or more nanocomposites comprise a plurality of electrically-interconnected nanocomposites aggregated into a three-dimensional agglomeration,
- wherein the three-dimensional agglomeration comprises internal pores that are left vacant and have a total porosity in the three-dimensional agglomeration that is defined by the curvatures of the planar substrate backbones of the plurality of electrically-interconnected nanocomposites so as to be sufficient to accommodate the volume changes in the active material that are greater than about 5% upon insertion or extraction of the metal ions.
A method of manufacturing a battery electrode composition, comprising:
- selecting a curvature for a curved geometrical structure of one or more planar substrate backbones based upon a volume expansion characteristic of an active material;
- providing one or more planar substrate backbones having the curved geometrical structure;
- at least partially encasing each substrate backbone with a non-porous, continuous or substantially continuous active material film that includes the active material to form one or more composite material nanocomposites having a curved planar geometry, wherein the film has an average thickness on either side of the substrate backbone in the range of 1.4 nm to 200 nm, and wherein the active material stores metal ions within the film and is subject to volume changes greater than about 5% upon insertion or extraction of the metal ions;
- and
- aggregating the nanocomposites into a three-dimensional, electrically-interconnected agglomeration that includes internal pores between the nanocomposities that are left vacant and have a total porosity in the three-dimensional agglomeration that is defined by the curvatures of the nanocomposites of the plurality of electrically-interconnected nanocomposites so as to be sufficient to accommodate the volume changes in the active material that are greater than about 5% upon insertion or extraction of the metal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.