Patent Description:
At present, secondary batteries represented by lithium-ion batteries are new types of batteries with high energy density and have become important and indispensable power accessories for communication products such as mobile phones, mobile DVDs, and handheld computers.

In a lithium-ion battery, the internal structure of the lithium-ion battery is generally positioned and protected by the battery shell. The core of the internal structure of a lithium-ion battery is formed by the interaction of a dry electrode core and an electrolyte. During the manufacturing process of a lithium-ion battery, the battery needs to be charged and activated for the first time. In the first charging reaction of the battery (that is, the formation reaction of the battery), a solid electrolyte interface or SEI film will be formed on the surface of the negative electrode active material wetted by the electrolyte. During the formation process of the battery, a series of electrochemical reactions are accompanied, and the electrolyte generates gas, so that the internal pressure of the battery increases. If the amount of gas generated is excessively large, the battery may be deformed, and such deformation may adversely affect the thickness and safety of the battery. When the internal pressure of the gas generated by the electrolyte in the battery shell reaches the opening pressure of the safety valve of the battery, the safety valve of the battery will open, and the battery capacity may thus drop significantly.

<CIT> refers to secondary battery and battery module, battery pack and apparatus including the secondary battery. In particular, the secondary battery includes a housing as well as an electrode assembly and an electrolyte contained in the housing; the electrode assembly includes a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate and a separator, and the positive electrode plate includes a positive current collector and a positive electrode film that is disposed on at least one surface of the positive electrode current collector and includes a positive electrode active material; the positive electrode active material includes one or more of lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide; the negative electrode plate includes a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode film that is disposed on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector and includes a negative electrode active material; the negative electrode active material includes silicon-based material and carbon material; and the secondary battery satisfies: <NUM>≤Z≤<NUM>. The secondary battery has the characteristics including high energy density, fast charging and long cycle life.

<CIT> relates to an electrochemical device, which comprises: a case; an electrode assembly positioned within the case, the electrode assembly comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; an electrolyte which is injected into the case, wherein the volume EV of a free space calculated from Equation <NUM> is <NUM>-<NUM> volume % with respect to the entire volume CV of an empty space within the case calculated from Equation <NUM>. The contents of Equations <NUM> and <NUM> are as set forth in the description.

<CIT> relates to a nonaqueous electrolyte battery arranged to be able to show a high volume energy density and superior safety. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to the embodiment comprises: a container; an electrode group enclosed in the container; and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution enclosed in the container. The container includes a gasrelease mechanism. The nonaqueous electrolyte solution contains a solvent having a boiling point within a range of <NUM> or above and <NUM> or below. The ratio A/B and the ratio B/C fall within the following ranges: <NUM>≤A/B≤<NUM> (<NUM>); and <NUM>≤B/C≤<NUM> (<NUM>), where A is a volume [cm] of a cavity in the container, excluding a cavity of the electrode group, B is a volume [cm] of the nonaqueous electrolyte solution, and C is a volume [cm] of a cavity of the electrode group.

<NPL>) aims to explore the correlations between electrolyte volume, electrochemical performance, and properties of the solid electrolyte interphase in pouch cells with Si-graphite composite anodes.

) teaches the assembly of high-capacity (<NUM>. 8Ah) cells using a nanoparticulate silicon-graphite (<NUM>:<NUM>) blend as the negative electrode material and a LiFePO4-LiNi0.5Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (<NUM>:<NUM>) blend as the positive electrode, and teaches strategies for mitigating the issues associated with the excessive volumetric changes of Si.

The disclosure aims to provide a battery and a method for preparing the battery, so that the battery product exhibits both good electrical performance and safety performance.

According to the first aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure provides a battery including a battery shell, a cell assembly, and an electrolyte. The electrolyte and the cell assembly are disposed in a containing space of the battery shell, and the electrolyte remaining in the containing space is a free electrolyte. A volume of the containing space is V0, a volume of the cell assembly is V1, a volume of the free electrolyte is Vt, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%. The free electrolyte refers to the electrolyte solution remaining in the containing space of the battery shell, specifically, the electrolyte that can flow out from the battery shell after the battery shell is opened and the battery shell is turned upside down and left to stand for a certain period of time.

The battery generates gas during the charging and discharging cycle, and the gas is stored in the battery shell. The battery shell is also provided with free electrolyte, which occupies part of the space of the casing. In the battery product provided by the disclosure, the electrolyte loading capacity is moderate. In this way, the lithium-ion battery maintains good cycle performance, and enough gas storage space is left for subsequent gas production. Further, in the containing space of the battery shell, the safety valve is prevented from opening prematurely due to excessive internal pressure reaching the opening pressure of the explosion-proof valve, so that the battery product exhibits both good cycle characteristics and safety.

According to the first aspect of the disclosure, a battery including a battery shell, a cell assembly, and an electrolyte is provided. The electrolyte and the cell assembly are disposed in a containing space of the battery shell, and the electrolyte remaining in the containing space is a free electrolyte. A volume of the containing space is V0, a volume of the cell assembly is V1, a volume of the free electrolyte is Vt, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

Preferably, a positive pole piece includes a positive electrode active material, and the positive electrode active material includes at least one of lithium iron phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganate, lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, lithium manganese iron phosphate, and lithium nickel manganese oxide. The negative pole piece includes a negative electrode active material, and the negative electrode active material comprises graphite.

In the battery provided by the disclosure, the negative electrode active material is graphite, the positive electrode active material is lithium iron phosphate, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

Preferably, the negative electrode active material is graphite, and the positive electrode active material is lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide. A material composition of the lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide satisfies the following general formula LiNixCoyMn(<NUM>-x-y)O<NUM>, in the general formula, <NUM>≤x≤<NUM> and <NUM>≤y≤<NUM>, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

Preferably, in the general formula LiNixCoyMn(<NUM>-x-y)O<NUM>, <NUM>≤x≤<NUM>, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%. In the case of using the same positive electrode active material and using the same negative electrode active material, the cycle performance of the lithium battery with this structural feature is improved.

Preferably, in the general formula LiNixCoyMn(<NUM>-x-y)O<NUM>, <NUM> < x≤<NUM>, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%. In the case of using the same positive electrode active material and using the same negative electrode active material, the cycle performance of the lithium battery with this structural feature is improved.

In the battery provided by the disclosure, the negative electrode active material further includes a silicon-based material, and a content of the silicon-based material in the negative electrode active material is <NUM>% to <NUM>% calculated by mass percentage.

Preferably, the silicon-based material includes at least one of silicon oxide, nano silicon, silicon carbon, and silicon alloy. Herein, the general formula of the silicon oxide is SiOx, <NUM><x<<NUM>.

Preferably, the positive electrode active material is lithium iron phosphate, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

Preferably, the positive electrode active material is lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide. The material composition of the lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide satisfies the following general formula LiNixCoyMn(<NUM>-x-y)O<NUM>, in the general formula, <NUM>≤x≤<NUM> and <NUM>≤y≤<NUM>, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

Preferably, in the general formula LiNixCoyMn(<NUM>-x-y)O<NUM>, <NUM>≤x≤<NUM>, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

Preferably, in the general formula LiNixCoyMn(<NUM>-x-y)O<NUM>, <NUM> < x≤<NUM>, and the battery satisfies <MAT> to <NUM>%.

In order to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to better understand the solutions of the disclosure, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure will be clearly and completely described below. Apparently, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the disclosure, not all of the embodiments.

In the following examples, a method for measuring the volume of the cell assembly (including measurement of a total volume of the winding cell, tab assembly, connecting sheet assembly, and insulating component) is provided as follows. A ruler is used to measure a length and a width of the winding cell (thickness is a thickness of the winding cell after formation into a constant volume), and the volume of the winding cell is calculated. The tab assembly, connecting sheet assembly, insulating component, etc. are removed, and a weight is weighed with a balance, and the volume of each assembly is calculated according to material density. A sum of the calculated volume of the winding cell and the total volume of the tab assembly, the battery switching piece, and other components is treated as the total volume of the cell assembly. Herein, in the examples or comparative examples in which the cell assembly is obtained by the winding process, a corner cross-section of the wound battery is semicircular, which needs to be considered when calculating the volume of the cell.

In this example, a lithium-ion battery is prepared according to the following method:.

According to the above method, different experimental groups and comparative experimental groups are set by changing the volume V0 of the containing space of the battery shell, the total volume of the cell assembly, and the injection volume of the electrolyte as variables. The product information of each experimental group and each comparative experimental group is shown in Table <NUM>. Among the groups, the external dimensions of the batteries and the cell dimensions of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> are all the same. The external dimensions of the batteries, the dimensions of the inner cavities of the battery shells, and the dimensions of the cells of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> are all the same.

The lithium-ion battery prepared in Example <NUM> was used as the test object of this test example.

The upper part of the lithium-ion battery as the test object was opened with a small opening, and the lithium-ion battery was placed upside down and left to stand for <NUM> minutes. The free electrolyte in the containing space of the battery shell was allowed to completely flow into a container, a balance was used to weigh the weight of the electrolyte flowing out, and a densitometer was used to measure the density to calculate the free electrolyte volume Vt.

At <NUM>, the lithium-ion battery as the test object was charged at a rate of 1C and discharged at a rate of 1C, and a full-charging and full-discharging cycle test was performed until the capacity of the lithium-ion battery decayed to <NUM>% of the initial capacity. The number of cycles was recorded, and it was observed whether the battery exhaust valve opened in the EOL state. The purpose of cycling at high temperature was to speed up aging and gas production.

The product structure parameters and performance indicators of the test objects in the examples are shown in Table <NUM>. It can be seen from the data shown in Table <NUM> that the product structures of the lithium-ion batteries prepared in the comparative experimental groups <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> do not satisfy the relational formula <MAT>. During the test process of the test examples, the abovementioned test products experienced valve opening, a rapid drop in capacity, or both. This shows that the working stability of these test products is poor. Herein, the lithium-ion batteries of the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> belong to the product structure of <MAT>. The amount of free electrolyte in the battery shells of these two groups of lithium-ion batteries is relatively small, and the lithium-ion transmission rate becomes poor, so lithium-ion precipitation is likely to occur at the negative electrode after these two groups of lithium-ion batteries are put into work. When lithium at the negative electrode accumulates to a certain extent, lithium dendrites may form, and a risk of lithium dendrites penetrating the separator film and causing direct short-circuiting of the positive and negative electrodes may occur. The lithium-ion batteries of the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> belong to the product structure of <MAT> > <NUM>%. These two groups of lithium-ion batteries have more free electrolyte in the battery shell, so these two groups of lithium-ion batteries have a higher lithium-ion transmission rate. However, since the volume of the containing space of the battery shell is constant, after a part of the volume of the containing space is occupied by the free electrolyte, the remaining volume that can be used to store gas is relatively less. As such, there is not enough space for the gas produced by the lithium-ion battery during the cycle charging and discharging process. As a result, the pressure in the containing space of the battery shell increases excessively fast, and it is easy to reach the opening pressure of the explosion-proof valve, and the explosion-proof valve bursts open. The product structures of the lithium-ion batteries prepared in the experimental groups <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> satisfy the relational formula <MAT>, and all of the batteries exhibit good cycle characteristics. During the test process of the test examples, the safety valves of the abovementioned test products did not open, and there was no rapid drop in battery capacity. This shows that these test products exhibit good safety and working stability. In the experimental groups <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>, the structural parameter corresponding to the lithium-ion battery of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> is <MAT>. The number of cycles corresponding to this test product is significantly lower than that of the test product of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> with the same battery shell specifications and cell assembly specifications. It can thus be explained that when LiNi<NUM>Co<NUM>Mn<NUM>O<NUM> is used as the positive electrode active material and graphite is used as the negative electrode active material, by setting the structure of the lithium-ion battery to satisfy <MAT>, the number of cycles of the lithium-ion battery can be increased to further improve its cycle performance.

According to the above method, different experimental groups and comparative experimental groups are set by changing the volume V0 of the containing space of the battery shell, the total volume of the cell assembly, and the injection volume of the electrolyte as variables. The product information of each experimental group and each comparative experimental group is shown in Table <NUM>. Among the groups, the external dimensions of the batteries, the dimensions of the inner cavities of the battery shells, and the dimensions of the cells of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, and the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> are all the same.

The product structure parameters and performance indicators of the test objects in the examples are shown in Table <NUM>. The product structures of the lithium-ion batteries prepared in the experimental groups <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> satisfy the relational formula <MAT>, and all of the batteries exhibit good cycle characteristics. During the test process of the test examples, the safety valves of the abovementioned test products did not open. This shows that these test products exhibit good safety and working stability. In the experimental groups <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>, the structural parameter <MAT> of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> corresponding to the lithium-ion battery is <<NUM>%, while the structural parameter <MAT> of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>><NUM>%. The number of cycles corresponding to the lithium-ion batteries of these two groups is relatively small. It can thus be explained that when LiNi<NUM>Co<NUM>Mn<NUM>O<NUM> is used as the positive electrode active material and graphite is used as the negative electrode active material, by setting the structure of the lithium-ion battery to satisfy <MAT>, the number of cycles of the lithium-ion battery can be increased to further improve its cycle performance.

According to the above method, different experimental groups and comparative experimental groups are set by changing the volume V0 of the containing space of the battery shell, the total volume of the cell assembly, and the injection volume of the electrolyte as variables. The product information of each experimental group and each comparative experimental group is shown in Table <NUM>. Among the groups, the external dimensions of the batteries, the dimensions of the inner cavities of the battery shells, and the dimensions of the cells of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, and the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> are all the same.

The product structure parameters and performance indicators of the test objects in the examples are shown in Table <NUM>. The product structure parameters and performance indicators of the test objects in the examples are shown in Table <NUM>. The product structures of the lithium-ion batteries prepared in the experimental groups <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> satisfy the relational formula <MAT>, and all of the batteries exhibit good cycle characteristics. During the test process of the test examples, the safety valves of the abovementioned test products did not open. This shows that these test products exhibit good safety and working stability.

According to the above method, different experimental groups and comparative experimental groups are set by changing the volume V0 of the containing space of the battery shell, the total volume of the cell assembly, and the injection volume of the electrolyte as variables. The product information of each experimental group and each comparative experimental group is shown in Table <NUM>. Among the groups, the external dimensions of the batteries, the dimensions of the inner cavities of the battery shells, and the dimensions of the cells of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> are all the same.

The product structure parameters and performance indicators of the test objects in the examples are shown in Table <NUM>. It can be seen from the data shown in Table <NUM> that the product structures of the lithium-ion batteries prepared in the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> do not satisfy the relational formula <MAT>. During the test process of the test examples, the abovementioned test products experienced valve opening, a rapid drop in capacity, or both. This shows that the working stability of these test products is poor. The product structures of the lithium-ion batteries prepared in the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> and the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> satisfy the relational formula <MAT>, and both the batteries exhibit good cycle characteristics. During the test process of the test examples, the safety valves of the abovementioned test products did not open, and there was no rapid drop in battery capacity. This shows that these test products exhibit good safety and working stability.

According to the above method, different experimental groups and comparative experimental groups are set by changing the volume VO of the containing space of the battery shell, the total volume of the cell assembly, and the injection volume of the electrolyte as variables. The product information of each experimental group and each comparative experimental group is shown in Table <NUM>. Among the groups, the external dimensions of the batteries, the dimensions of the inner cavities of the battery shells, and the dimensions of the cells of the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM>, and the comparative experimental group <NUM>-<NUM> are all the same.

Claim 1:
A battery, comprising a battery shell, a cell assembly, and an electrolyte the electrolyte and the cell assembly are disposed in a containing space of the battery shell, the electrolyte remaining in the containing space is a free electrolyte, a volume of the containing space is V0, a volume of the cell assembly is V1, a volume of the free electrolyte is Vt, and the battery being characterized by satisfying <MAT> to <NUM>%.