# US 12,191,483 B2 · Positive electrode active material comprising sulfur-carbon composite and lithium-sulfur secondary battery comprising the same

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- Number: US 12,191,483 B2
- Document ID: US12191483B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/518,749
- Filed: 2023-11-24
- Published: 2024-05-30
- Granted: 2025-01-07
- Earliest claimed: 2022-11-25
- Assignees: LG Energy Solution, Ltd.
- Applicants: LG Energy Solution, Ltd.
- Inventors: Min-Su Kim; Da-Young Kang; Bong-Soo Kim; Seung-Bo Yang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12191483B2

## CPC

- H01M 4/382: {Lithium (H01M4/405 takes precedence)}
- H01M 4/136: Electrodes based on inorganic compounds other than oxides or hydroxides, e.g. sulfides, selenides, tellurides, halogenides or LiCoFy
- H01M 4/1397: of electrodes based on inorganic compounds other than oxides or hydroxides, e.g. sulfides, selenides, tellurides, halogenides or LiCoFy
- H01M 4/362: {Composites}
- H01M 4/364: {as mixtures}
- H01M 4/38: of elements or alloys
- H01M 4/5815: {Sulfides}
- H01M 4/583: Carbonaceous material, e.g. graphite-intercalation compounds or CFx
- H01M 4/625: {Carbon or graphite}
- H01M 10/052: Li-accumulators
- H01M 2004/028: {Positive electrodes}
- Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a positive electrode active material for a lithium-sulfur battery, and the positive electrode active material of the present disclosure includes a sulfur-carbon composite, wherein the sulfur-carbon composite includes a porous carbon material and a sulfur-based material disposed on at least a portion of an inside of pores and a surface of the porous carbon material, wherein the sulfur-based material includes at least one of sulfur (S8) or a sulfur compound, and wherein the porous carbon material satisfies one or more of the following conditions: (1) a sum of particle size D10 and particle size D90 is 60 μm or less; and (2) a broadness factor (BF) satisfying Equation 1 is 7 or less: Broadness factor (BF)=(particle size D90 of the porous carbon material)/(particle size D10 of the porous carbon material) [Equation 1].

## Claims

### Claim 1

A positive electrode active material for a lithium-sulfur battery, comprising:
a sulfur-carbon composite,
wherein the sulfur-carbon composite comprises a porous carbon material and a sulfur-based material disposed on at least a portion of an inside of pores and a surface of the porous carbon material,
wherein the sulfur-based material comprises at least one of sulfur (S8) or a sulfur compound, and
wherein the porous carbon material satisfies one or more of the following conditions:
(1) a sum of particle size D10 and particle size D90 is 30 μm or more and 60 μm or less; and
(2) a broadness factor (BF) satisfying Equation 1 is 7 or less:
Broadness factor (BF)=(particle size D90 of the porous carbon material)/(particle size D10 of the porous carbon material) [Equation 1].

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The positive electrode active material for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 1, wherein the porous carbon material comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, carbon black, carbon nanotubes and graphene.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The positive electrode active material for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 1, wherein a particle size D50 of the porous carbon material is 100 μm or less.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The positive electrode active material for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 1, wherein an amount of sulfur(S) is 60 wt % or more and less than 100 wt % based on 100 wt % of the sulfur-carbon composite.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The positive electrode active material for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 1, wherein the porous carbon material is a product from which a raw material porous carbon material is centrifugally milled and filtered through a sieve having a mesh size 2.8 to 4 times of a D50 particle size of the porous carbon material.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The positive electrode active material for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 1, wherein the porous carbon material satisfies the broadness factor (BF) of 4 to 7.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A positive electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery, comprising:
a current collector; and
a positive electrode active material layer on at least one surface of the current collector,
wherein the positive electrode active material layer comprises the positive electrode active material of claim 1.

### Claim 8

A positive electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery, comprising:
a current collector; and
a positive electrode active material layer on at least one surface of the current collector,
wherein the positive electrode active material layer comprises a plurality of sulfur-carbon composites,
wherein the positive electrode satisfies Equation 2:
XL/XS≤15 [Equation 2]
wherein XL is an average value of longest axis lengths in five largest sulfur-carbon composites on an area basis in a top view image of the positive electrode active material layer, and
wherein XS is an average value of longest axis lengths in five smallest sulfur-carbon composites on the area basis in the top view image of the positive electrode active material layer.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein the top view image of the positive electrode active material layer is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of an upper surface of the positive electrode active material layer.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein the bottom five sulfur-carbon composites excludes a particle having the longest axis length of less than 1 μm.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein the top five sulfur-carbon composites and the bottom sulfur-carbon composites are independently selected from an area of 50 μm×50 μm to an area of 1,000 μm X 1,000 μm in the top view image.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein the positive electrode active material layer has an average tortuosity of 1.7 or less.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein an amount of sulfur(S) in the positive electrode active material layer is 60 wt % or more and less than 100 wt % based on 100 wt % of the positive electrode active material layer.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein a sulfur loading of the positive electrode is 1.67 mg/cm2 to 2.92 mg/cm2.

### Claim 15 (depends on 8)

The positive electrode for the lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of sulfur-carbon composites comprises a porous carbon material, and
wherein the porous carbon material satisfies one or more of the following conditions:
(1) a sum of particle size D10 and particle size D90 is 60 μm or less; and
(2) a broadness factor (BF) satisfying Equation 1 is 7 or less:
Broadness factor (BF)=(particle size D90 of the porous carbon material)/(particle size D10 of the porous carbon material). [Equation 1].

### Claim 16 (depends on 8)

A lithium-sulfur battery, comprising:
an electrode assembly comprising the positive electrode of claim 8, a negative electrode and a separator between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and
an electrolyte.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 16, wherein a ratio (El/S) of a total weight of the electrolyte to a total weight of sulfur(S) in the positive electrode is 3.5 g/g or less.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 16, wherein a 10-second power density is 2.1 kW/kg or higher.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The lithium-sulfur battery according to claim 16, wherein a discharge capacity of the lithium-sulfur battery is 1,000 mAh/gs or more per a weight of sulfur(S) in the positive electrode at 1.0 C discharge rate.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

A lithium-sulfur battery, comprising:
an electrode assembly comprising the positive electrode of claim 15, a negative electrode and a separator between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and
an electrolyte,
wherein the particle size D10 and the particle size D90 are values measured when a state of charge (SOC) of the lithium-sulfur battery is 70% to 100%.