Electrode and method for its production

Abstract: An electrode comprising a graphite composi­ tion as an active material is disclosed wherein the graphite composition is composed of high-crystalline graphite having interlayer spacings in the range of 0.3354 to 0.3400 nm and low-crystalline graphite having interlayer spacings in the range of 0.343 to 0.355 nm.

Description: This invention relates to an electrode and more particularly to an electrode for secondary batteries in which alkali metals such as lithium and potassium are used as dopants. It also relates to a method for the production of such an electrode. Conventional secondary batteries in which alkali metals such as lithium and potassium are used as dopants make use of graphite electrodes, the graphite active material having an interlayer spacing of 0.337 to 0.355 nm (U.S.S.N. 030,886). Graphite has a structure which is constituted by hexagonal net faces made of carbon atoms, which are spread and stacked over the entire region. When these hexagonal net faces are stacked in a quite regular manner, their interlayer spacing is equal to 0.3354 nm. When the hexagonal net faces are stacked in a less regular manner, their interlayer spacing increases gradually with increasing irregularity. The graphite material used for conventional electrodes has a distribution of interlayer spacings in the narrow region within the above range. However, such conventional electrodes have the disadvantage that their electrochemical charge-discharge capacity is small, because the active graphite material has an interlayer spacing in the narrow region. In particular, the charge-discharge capacity is low at lower electrical potentials, which becomes important when the electrode is combined with an appropriate positive electrode to form a battery. Actually, the charge-discharge capacity at lower electrical potentials in the range of 0 to +0.5 V based on that of a lithium reference electrode, amounts to less than 180 mA·h per milligram of graphite material. The electrode of this invention, which overcomes the above and numerous other disadvantages and deficiencies of the prior art, comprises a graphite mixture as active material, the graphite mixture being composed of high-crystalline graphite having interlayer spacings in the range of 0.3354 to 0.3400 nm and low-crystalline graphite having interlayer spacings in the range of 0.343 to 0.355 nm, the graphite mixture having a ratio of the diffraction intensity at 2 = 25.0° to the diffraction intensity of the peak corresponding to the (002) reflection in the X-ray diffraction profile, of 0.03 to 0.90. In a preferred aspect, the diffraction intensity ratio is 0.03 to 0.50. In another preferred aspect, the graphite mixture is directly deposited on an electrode substrate by chemical vapor deposition. In a more preferred aspect, the electrode substrate is of iron, cobalt, nickel, or an alloy containing at least one of these metals. The method for the production of the electrode described above comprises disposing an electrode substrate within a reaction chamber for chemical vapor deposition, the electrode substrate preferably being of iron, cobalt, nickel or an alloy containing at least one of these metals; supplying a hydrocarbon compound to the reaction chamber at a hydrocarbon feed rate of 0.05 to 15 mol/hr, a hydrocarbon molecular number density of 2.0 x 10 21 to 2.6 x 10 22 molecules/ℓ and a hydrocarbon flow rate of 0.5 to 70 cm/min; thermally decomposing the hydrocarbon compound at a temperature of 450 to 1300°C to form a graphite mixture; and directly depositing the graphite mixture on the electrode substrate. In a preferred aspect, the hydrocarbon compound has a molecular weight equal to or less than 150. In a more preferred aspect, the temperature at which the hydrocarbon compound is decomposed is in the range of 700° to 1200°C. In another preferred aspect, the graphite mixture is directly deposited on the electrode substrate to a thickness of 1 to 300 µm. Thus, the invention makes possible the objectives of (1) providing an electrode in which a graphite mixture composed of high-crystalline graphite and low-crystalline graphite is used as an active material, so that the charge-discharge capacity at lower electrical potentials is significantly increased in comparison with conventional electrodes having only one kind of a graphite material; (2) providing an electrode which can be combined with an appropriate counter electrode to produce a battery with improved capacity and lifetime because of its large charge-discharge capacity at lower electrical potentials; and (3) providing a method for the production of an electrode in which a graphite mixture as an active material is directly deposited on an electrode substrate by chemical vapor deposition, so that the manufacturing processes can be simplified, thereby allowing a low production cost. This invention may be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings as follows: Figure 1 is an X-ray diffraction profile with the CuKα rays of the graphite composition of Example 1 of this invention. Figure 2 shows charge-discharge characteristic curves of the graphite electrodes of Examples 1 and 2 of this invention and of the conventional graphite electrode of Comparative Example. Figure 3 is an X-ray diffraction profile with the CuKα rays of the graphite composition of Example 2 of this invention. Figure 4 is an X-ray diffraction profile with the CuKα rays of the high-crystalline graphite of Comparative Example. The electrode of this invention comprises a graphite mixture which is composed of graphite materials with different interlayer spacings as an active material. In this invention, the interlayer spacings are usually measured by X-ray diffraction and determined on the basis of the values of 2 corresponding to the respective diffraction peaks. As used herein, the reference to interlayer spacings in the range of 0.3354 to 0.3400 nm is not necessarily intended to mean that the high-crystalline graphite has a distribution of interlayer spacings throughout this range. The high-crystalline graphite may contain at least one component having an interlayer spacing in this range. The same is true for the interlayer spacings in the range of 0.343 to 0.355 nm. The low-crystalline graphite may contain at least one component having an interlayer spacing in this range. For example, these graphite materials may have a continuous distribution of interlayer spacings over the respective ranges mentioned above, as observed in the X-ray diffraction profile. In the measurement of the diffraction profile of the graphite composition by the use of an X-ray diffractometer with CuKα rays, the ratio of the diffraction intensity at the diffraction angle 2 = 25.0° to the diffraction intensity of the peak corresponding to the (002) reflection of the graphite material having smaller interlayer spacings is in the range of 0.03 to 0.90, preferably 0.03 to 0.50. Ratios inside this range are desirable because the charge-discharge capacity at lower electrical potentials in the range of 0 to +0.5 V based on that of a lithium reference electrode, is increased by a factor of about 1.4 to 1.7 as compared with conventional graphite electrodes. Ratios greater than 0.9 are undesirable because the proportion of low-crystalline graphite has then increased, so that the charge-discharge capacity is increased over a wide range of electrical potentials including higher portions, whereas the flatness of the charge-discharge curve becomes poor. Ratios less than 0.03 are also undesirable because the proportion of high-crystalline graphite has then increased, so that the flatness of charge-discharge curve is satisfactory, whereas the charge-discharge capacity decreases over a wide range of electrical potentials including higher portions. In any case, ratios outside the range mentioned above are further undesirable because of a decrease in the charge-discharge capacity at lower electrical potentials. As mentioned above, to estimate the proportion of low-crystalline graphite to high-crystalline graphite, the diffraction intensity at 2= 25.0° is used in place of the diffraction intensity of the peak corresponding to the (002) reflection of the graphite material having larger interlayer spacings. This is because the diffraction peaks corresponding to the (002) reflections of two kinds of graphite materials may, in some cases, be close to each other, making it difficult to distinguish between them. It is well known that the interlayer spacing of graphite is an excellent measure of the crystallinity of the graphite, and the half-height peak widths in the X-ray diffraction profile will actually decrease with decreasing interlayer spacing of the graphite. Thus, the degree of crystallinity of the graphite can be adequately determined according to the magnitude of the interlayer spacing, as mentioned above. The graphite mixture of this invention, which is composed of graphite materials with different interlayer spacings, can be prepared by any of various methods already generally well known in the art. Of these methods, preferred is a method in which the graphite mixture is directly deposited on an electrode substrate by chemical vapor deposition using a hydrocarbon compound as a starting material. To form the graphite composition with high efficiency, the chemical vapor deposition is performed under the following conditions: (1) the feed rate of the hydrocarbon compound is in the range of 0.05 to 15 mol/hr; (2) the number density of molecules of the hydrocarbon compound is in the range of 2.0 x 10 21 to 2.6 x 10 22 molecules/ℓ ; (3) the flow rate of the hydrocarbon compound is in the range of 0.5 to 70 cm/min; and (4) the temperature for thermal decomposition is in the range of 450° to 1300°C, preferably 700° to 1200°C. Under conditions outside these ranges, it is difficult to form a graphite mixture which is composed of graphite materials having the interlayer spacings mentioned above and more particularly to form a graphite mixture which is composed of high-crystalline graphite and low-crystalline graphite at a proportion adequate to attain excellent electrode characteristics. The starting material for the graphite mixture is a hydrocarbon compound, which preferably has a molecular weight equal to or less than 150. The hydrocarbon compounds which can be used in this invention include aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons and alicyclic hydrocarbons. Examples of these Hydrocarbon compounds are benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, anthracene, hexamethylbenzene, 1,2-dibromoethylene, 2-butyne, propane, acetylene, biphenyl, diphenylacetylene, and substitutional derivatives thereof. The thickness of the coating of graphite composition directly deposited on the electrode substrate is suitably in the range of 1 to 300 µm. The electrode substrate, which is preferably of iron, cobalt, nickel, or an alloy containing at least one of these metals can be used as a current-collector of the graphite electrode because of its electrical conductivity. Thus, according to this method, the preparation of the graphite mixture as an active material and the formation of the graphite electrode can be conducted simultaneously which is most preferable for practical use. The electrode substrate can be in any form, such as a plate, foam or net. The graphite mixture of this invention can also be prepared by blending a low-crystalline graphite such as pitch coke and a high-crystalline graphite such as carbon fibers heat-treated at high temperature in a powder form, and then baking the blended mixture. Such a procedure forms the subject of copending application 95202529.4 (publication no. 0717456). The electrode of this invention produced as mentioned above can be employed as an electrode for various batteries and preferably as a negative electrode for secondary batteries in which alkali metals are used as a dopant. The following Examples illustrate the invention. Example 1 Figure 1 shows an X-ray diffraction profile generated with CuKα rays, of a graphite mixture of an electrode which was prepared as follows: An electrode substrate made of nickel was disposed within the reaction chamber for chemical vapor deposition. When benzene was supplied as a starting material to the reaction chamber, the benzene was thermally decomposed within the reaction chamber to form the graphite composition, which was then directly deposited on the electrode substrate for growth, resulting in a graphite electrode. The coating of the graphite directly deposited on the electrode substrate had a thickness of 90 µm. The chemical vapor deposition mentioned above was performed under the following conditions: the feed rate of benzene was 1.5 mol/hr; the number density of benzene molecules was 1.0 x 10 22 molecules/ℓ, the flow rate of benzene was 1.5 cm/min, and the temperature for thermal decomposition was 950°C. As can be seen from Figure 1, the graphite obtained in this way was a mixture of high-crystalline graphite having a diffraction peak corresponding to the (002) reflection (corresponding to the interlayer spacing of 0.339 nm) and low-crystalline graphite having the diffraction peak at 2 = 25° (corresponding to the interlayer spacing of 0.355 nm). The ratio of the diffraction intensity of the low-crystalline graphite to the diffraction intensity of the high-crystalline graphite was 0.18. The graphite electrode obtained was used as a test sample electrode A. The test sample electrode A was immersed in an electrolytic bath, which was provided with lithium electrodes as a counter electrode and a reference electrode, and a charge-discharge test, in which the test sample electrode A was doped or dedoped with lithium atoms, was carried out. The electrolytic bath contained an electrolytic solution of propylene carbonate containing 1-M lithium perchlorate. Curve A in Figure 2 shows changes in the electrical potential of the test sample electrode A based on that of the lithium reference electrode when the test sample electrode A was discharged, which clearly indicates that the discharging capacity of the graphite electrode of this example is much improved at electrical potentials less than about 1 volt over the conventional graphite electrode of the comparative example below, and thus the discharge characteristics of the graphite electrode of this example are extremely satisfactory. Example 2 Figure 3 shows an X-ray diffraction profile generated with CuKα rays, of a graphite mixture of an electrode which was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that propane was used as the starting material and the chemical vapor deposition was performed under the following conditions: the feed rate of propane was 2.2 mol/hr, the number density of propane molecules was 1.5 x 10 22 molecules/ℓ, the flow rate of propane was 0.7 cm/min, and the temperature for thermal decomposition was 900°C. As can be seen from Figure 3, the graphite obtained in this way was a mixture of high-crystalline graphite and low-crystalline graphite. The ratio of the diffraction strength at 2 = 25.0° to the diffraction strength corresponding to the (002) reflection was 0.23. The graphite electrode obtained was used as a test sample electrode B, and a charge-discharge test, in which the test sample electrode B was doped or dedoped with lithium atoms, was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1. The Curve B in Figure 2 shows changes in the electric potential of the test sample electrode B based on that of the lithium reference electrode when the test sample electrode B was discharged, which clearly indicates that the discharge capacity of the graphite electrode of this example is very large at electrical potentials less than about 1 volt, and thus the discharge characteristics of the graphite electrode of this example are extremely satisfactory. Comparative Example Figure 4 shows an X-ray diffraction profile generated with CuKα rays, of the graphite material of a conventional electrode. As can be seen from this figure, the graphite material was composed of only one high-crystalline graphite having a diffraction peak corresponding to the (002) reflection (corresponding to the interlayer spacing of 0.339 nm). The conventional graphite electrode was used as a test sample electrode C, and a charge-discharge test, in which the test sample electrode C was doped or dedoped with lithium atoms, was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1. The Curve C in Figure 2 shows changes in the electrical potential of the test sample electrode C based on that of the lithium reference electrode when the test sample electrode C was discharged, which clearly indicates that compared to the graphite electrodes of the above examples, the graphite electrode of this comparative example has a small discharge capacity at lower electrical potentials and is not suitable for use as an electrode.

Claims: An electrode comprising as active material a graphite mixture composed of a high-crystalline graphite having interlayer spacings in the range of 0.3354 to 0.3400 nm and a low-crystalline graphite having interlayer spacings in the range of 0.343 to 0.355 nm, the graphite mixture having a ratio of the diffraction intensity at 2 = 25.0° to the diffraction intensity of the peak corresponding to the (002) reflection in the X-ray diffraction profile of 0.03 to 0.90. An electrode according to claim 1, wherein the diffraction intensity ratio is 0.03 to 0.50. An electrode according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the graphite mixture is directly deposited on an electrode substrate by chemical vapor deposition. An electrode according to claim 3, wherein the electrode substrate is of iron, cobalt, nickel, or an alloy containing at least one of these metals. A method for the production of an electrode according to claim 3, comprising disposing an electrode substrate within a reaction chamber for chemical vapor deposition; supplying a hydrocarbon compound to the reaction chamber at a hydrocarbon feed rate of 0.05 to 15 mol/hr, a hydrocarbon molecular number density of 2.0 x 10 21 to 2.6 x 10 22 molecules/ℓ and a hydrocarbon flow rate of 0.5 to 70 cm/min; thermally decomposing the hydrocarbon compound at a temperature of 450 to 1300°C to form a graphite mixture; and directly depositing the graphite mixture on the electrode substrate, thereby obtaining an electrode comprising as active material the graphite mixture specified in claim 3. A method according to claim 5, wherein the hydrocarbon compound has a molecular weight equal to or less than 150. A method according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the temperature at which the hydrocarbon compound is decomposed is 700° to 1200°C. A method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the graphite mixture is directly deposited on the electrode substrate to a thickness of 1 to 300µm. A method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the electrode substrate is of iron, cobalt, nickel or an alloy containing at least one of these metals.

Inventors: NAKAJIMA SHIGEO, SUZUKI TOMONARI, WADA HIROSHI, YOSHIDA MASARU, YOSHIMOTO YOSHIKAZU, NAKAJIMA, SHIGEO, SUZUKI, TOMONARI, WADA, HIROSHI, YOSHIDA, MASARU, YOSHIMOTO, YOSHIKAZU
Applicants: SHARP KK, SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1989
Main classification: H01M4
IPC codes: H01M4, C23C16