Patent ID: 12215437

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure will be described in detail below in combination with embodiments.

Explanation of Terms

Term “Roundness” refers to the average value of the radius of curvature of all convex areas of the particle to the radius of the circumcircle of the particle, which can be measured by the dynamic image particle analyzer.

Term “powder resistivity” refers to the resistance of a conductor per unit length and unit cross-sectional area, which is numerically equal to the resistivity, which is measured by charging a certain mass of powder sample (1 to 2 g) into a measuring fixture, putting the fixture into a pre-compaction instrument, starting the pre-compaction instrument to compact for 15 s, then installing the fixture back to the powder resistivity meter, starting the software for the test, and the instrument automatically collects parameters such as pressure, resistance, resistivity, conductivity, sample thickness, and compaction density, etc.

Term “specific discharge capacity” refers to the amount of electricity that can be discharged by the positive electrode active substance per unit mass (in mAh/g).

Term “initial coulombic efficiency” refers to initial discharge capacity/initial charge capacity of a battery.

Term “rater” means that charge-discharge rate=charge-discharge current/rated capacity. Term “battery discharge rate” represents a measure of the discharge speed. The capacity used is discharged completely in 1 hour, which is called 1C discharge; the capacity used is discharged completely in 3 hours, which is called ⅓=0.33C discharge, and similarly, 3C discharge means that the capacity used is discharged completely in 0.33 hours.

Term “10% SOC resistance” refers to a resistance when the remaining capacity of a battery is 10% of the full charge.

Example 1

(1) NiSO4, CoSO4and MnSO4were formulated into a mixed salt solution at a molar ratio of Ni:Co:Mn=6:1:3, the concentration of the mixed solution A was 2 mol/L; a NaOH solution with a concentration of 5 mol/L was formulated as the precipitator; an ammonia solution with a concentration of 6 mol/L was formulated as the complexing agent; the mixed salt solution, NaOH solution and ammonia solution were continuously added into a reaction vessel equipped with a stirrer by a metering pump, respectively, the reaction temperature was kept at 40° C., the pH was kept at 11, and the stirring speed was 500 r/min, the whole reaction process was protected by an inert gas. After the reaction was completed, the precipitate obtained was filtered, washed and dried at 110° C. for 4 to 12 hours to obtain Ni0.6Co0.1Mn0.3(OH)2precursor (NCM613 precursor) with a D50of 3.5 microns.

1.07 kg of lithium carbonate and 2.5 kg of NCM613 precursor were weighed according to molar ratio of lithium carbonate to the prepared Ni0.6Co0.1Mn0.3(OH)2of Li/(Ni+Co+Mn)=1.06, which were mixed for 8 min by an intensive mixer at 3000 rpm, the material was checked until there was no white spots, then the mixing was stopped. The mixed material was charged into a 330*300*100 mm alumina ceramic sagger, and spread, then evenly cut into 36 pieces by a block cutter, which were put into an atmosphere box-type furnace, pure oxygen was injected at 60 L/min, the temperature was raised to the first sintering temperature of 970° C. at a heating rate of 3° C./min and held for 12 hours, then cooled down naturally. The cooled material was broken into crushed material of less than 2 mm by a double twin-roller, and then the crushed material was pulverized and graded by airflow pulverizer to obtain the conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 3.8 microns, the morphology of which was shown inFIG.1and the profile morphology was shown inFIG.3.

(2) 1.5 kg of the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material and 118 g of nano-Co(OH)2were mixed evenly in a high-speed mixer, and then held at the second sintering temperature of 850° C. for 5 h, the second sintering temperature was at least 20° C. lower than the first sintering temperature, sieving after naturally cooling to obtain the gradient single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 3.85 microns, the morphology of which was shown inFIG.2and the profile morphology was shown inFIG.4.

(3) 1.5 kg of the obtained gradient single-crystal material 613 positive electrode material, 3.8 g of WO3and 1.4 g of LiOH·H2O were mixed evenly in a high-speed mixer, the material was charged into a sagger, and held at the third sintering temperature of 400° C. for 5 h, the third sintering temperature was at least 50° C. lower than that of the second sintering temperature. The gradient single-crystal 613 positive electrode material of which the surface was coated with a lithium containing compound and a tungsten containing compound prepared in the disclosure was obtained by sieving.

1. Test for Surface Co and Internal Co Content.

The atomic ratio of Ni, Co and Mn elements was obtained by testing the surface of the positive electrode material finally obtained in the above example 1 using the Energy Dispersive Spectrometer, and the sum of which was 1, and the atomic ratio of Co therein was calculated. Profile processing of the material was carried out by an argon ion profiler to obtain a smooth material section, and then elemental analysis at one tenth of the radius from the material surface was carried out by Energy Dispersive Spectrometer, which was evenly divided into 20 parts in the diameter direction of the material particles, and then elemental analysis at a distance of 1 part from the surface was carried out by Energy Dispersive Spectrometer to obtain the atomic ratio of Ni, Co, and Mn elements, the sum of which was 1, and the atomic ratio of Co therein was calculated. Multiple points on multiple particles can be selected for analysis and then the average value was taken. The schematic diagram of 10% radial depth of particles was shown inFIG.5. For example, 6 points were tested on one particle, the average proportion of Co of 6 points on the particle was tested, and then 10 particles were tested to calculate the average proportion of Co of the sample.

2. Test of Roundness

The positive electrode material finally obtained in the above Example 1 was dispersed into a certain amount of pure water, fully stirred, and then placed same into an ultrasonic cleaner for ultrasonic dispersion 2-5 minutes. Then, the dispersed sample suspension was added into the sample tester of the dynamic image particle analyzer for testing, and the test result of roundness was automatically calculated and output by the instrument software after the test was completed.

3. Preparation of Button Battery

9.2 g of positive electrode material, 0.3 g of Super-P, 0.2 g of KS-6, and 3 g of 10% PVDF were weighed according to the mass ratio of positive electrode material:Super-P:KS-6:PVDF of 92%: 3%: 2%: 3%, respectively. 4 g of NMP was additionally added and stirred at 3500 rpm for 3 min, then the remaining 2.5 g of NMP was added and stirred at 3500 rpm for 3 min to prepare the positive electrode paste.

The mixed paste was coated evenly on the 35 cm*7.5 cm aluminum foil with a 200-micron coater in the way of manual drag coating, the thickness was ensured to be uniform, the coated electrode sheet was kept horizontal and dried in an air drying oven at 100° C. for 30 min, and the surface density of the electrode sheet was controlled to be 90-110 g/m2.

The residual paste on the bright surface of the dried electrode sheet was carefully wiped off with industrial alcohol, and cut into a size of length*width of 25 cm*7.5 cm with the positive electrode board cutter, and then the compaction density was controlled to be 3.2±0.1 g/cm3by rolling with a twin roller. The rolled electrode sheet was punched into positive electrode sheet with a Φ=14 mm punching die, and at least 6-8 electrode sheets were punched in each batch. The cut positive electrode sheet was gently clamped with insulated tweezers and weighed one by one on a one-hundred-thousandth balance, then the positive electrode sheet was baked in a vacuum oven at 100±3° C. and −0.1 MPa for 8 h. After baking, positive electrode sheet was transferred from the vacuum oven to the glove box within 10 s.

A gasket was put in the anode steel shell, and a lithium sheet was put on the gasket for flattening, 2 drops of electrolyte was injected, then a layer of battery separator was put and 1 drop of electrolyte was injected, and then a positive electrode sheet was installed to make the positive electrode sheet in the center, then clamped same with insulated bamboo tweezers and the positive electrode steel shell was covered. The assembled battery was put into the card slot of the sealing machine according to the requirements that the anode faced upward and the positive electrode faced downward. The sealing was carried out at a sealing machine pressure of 280 kg/cm2for a pressure holding time of 1 s, then the battery was taken out and wiped clean with dust-free paper, that is, the preparation of the button battery was completed.

4. Test of Electrical Performance

Battery formation. After the prepared button battery was held for about 24 hours, it was constant-current charged at a constant temperature condition of 23° C. and the 0.1C rate current of 3.0-4.4V, then constant-voltage charged at 4.4V and a cutoff current of 0.02C, then 0.1C constant-current discharged to 3.0V, the discharge specific capacity and the initial coulombic efficiency (discharge specific capacity/charge specific capacity) were recorded.

Test of rate. The formed battery was subjected to charge and discharge process steps at 0.33C, 0.5C, 1C, and 3C between 3.0V and 4.4V, respectively, the corresponding discharge capacities of which were recorded, respectively and the ratio of 3C discharge capacity to 0.33C discharge capacity was calculated, this ratio was used to represent the rate performance, and the higher the ratio, the better the rate performance.

Test of resistance. The formed button battery was subjected to constant-current and constant-voltage charging at 1C current with a voltage range of 3.0-4.4V and a cutoff current of 0.02C, then discharged at 1C current I1for 30 min, let it stand for 1 h, and the current voltage was recorded as V0, and then discharged at 2C current 2*I1for 18 s, and the current voltage was recorded as V1, then discharged at 1C current I1for 24 min, let it stand for 1 h, and the current voltage was recorded as V2, and then discharged at 2C current 2*I1for 18 s, and the current voltage was recorded as V3, that is, the resistance of 50% SOC was R1=(V0−V1)/I1, and the resistance of 10% SOC was R2=(V2−V3)/(2*I1).

Test of cycle and cyclic resistance. The constant-current and constant-voltage charging was carried out at 0.5C with a voltage range of 3.0-4.4V and a cutoff current of 0.02C, then discharged at 1C for 18 s and the voltage was recorded, and then continuously discharged at 1C to 3.0V, the above process steps were repeated until the capacity retention rate was less than or equal to 90%, and the cycle was stopped. The cyclic resistance was 4.4V minus the voltage after each 18 seconds of discharge and then divided by 1C current. The electrical performance of the prepared sample was evaluated according to the above preparation method and electrical performance testing method of the button battery. The resistance of this example was set as the reference 100, and the other resistances were the relative values thereto.

Example 2

0.96 kg of nano-sized metal Ni, 0.16 kg of nano-sized metal Co and 0.45 kg of nano-sized metal Mn were mixed in a high-speed mixer at 3000 rpm for 3 min, then 1.07 kg of lithium carbonate was added, and continuously mixed at 3000 rpm for 8 min, the material was checked until there was no white spots, then the mixing was stopped. The mixed material was charged into a 330*300*100 mm alumina ceramic sagger, and spread, then the material was evenly cut into 36 pieces by a block cutter, which were put into an atmosphere box-type furnace, pure oxygen was injected at 60 L/min, the temperature was raised to the first sintering temperature of 970° C. at a heating rate of 3° C./min and held for 12 hours, then cooled down naturally. The cooled material was broken into crushed material of less than 2 mm by a double twin-roller, and then the crushed material was pulverized and graded by airflow pulverizer to obtain the conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 3.8 microns. The subsequent preparation method was the same as example 1.

Example 3

This example 3 was the same as example 1, except that “1.5 kg of the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material and 118 g of nano-Co(OH)2” in step (2) of example 1 was changed as “1.5 kg of the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material and 118 g of nano-Co(OH)2and 2.8 g of nano-Al2O3”.

Example 4

This example 4 was the same as example 1, except that “1.5 kg of the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material and 118 g of nano-Co(OH)2” in step (2) of example 1 was changed as “1.5 kg of the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material and 118 g of nano-Co(OH)2and 6.8 g of nano-ZrO2”.

Example 5

This example 5 was the same as example 1, except that “1.5 kg of the obtained gradient single-crystal material 613 positive electrode material, 3.8 g of WO3and 1.4 g of LiOH·H2O” in step (3) of example 1 was changed as “1.5 kg of the obtained gradient single-crystal material 613 positive electrode material, 3.8 g of WO3, 4.2 g of LiOH·H2O and 2.8 g of nano-Al2O3”.

Example 6

“3.8 g of WO3and 1.4 g of LiOH·H2O” in step (3) of example 1 was changed as “8.5 g of H3BO3, 2.8 g of Al2O3and 8.1 g of LiOH·H2O”.

Example 7

This example 7 was the same as example 1, except that the second sintering temperature in (2) of example 1 was changed as 700° C. and held for 8 h.

Example 8

This example 8 was the same as example 1, except that the second sintering temperature in (2) of example 1 was changed as 900° C. and held for 3 h.

Example 9

This example 9 was the same as example 1, except that “NiSO4, CoSO4and MnSO4were formulated into a mixed salt solution at a molar ratio of Ni:Co:Mn=6:1:3” in step (1) of example 1 was changed as “NiSO4, CoSO4and MnSO4were formulated into a mixed salt solution at a molar ratio of Ni:Co:Mn=55:5:40”.

Example 10

The difference between example 10 and example 1 only lied in that, in step (1), lithium carbonate and NCM613 precursor were weighed according to molar ratio of lithium carbonate to the prepared Ni0.6Co0.1Mn0.3(OH)2of Li(Ni+Co+Mn)=0.9; the first sintering was held for 15 hours; pulverized and graded to obtain the conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 2.5 microns.

Example 11

The difference between example 11 and example 1 only lied in that, in step (1), lithium carbonate and NCM613 precursor were weighed according to molar ratio of lithium carbonate to the prepared Ni0.6Co0.1Mn0.3(OH)2of Li/(Ni+Co+Mn)=1.25; the first sintering temperature was changed as 1000° C. and held for 8 hours; pulverized and graded to obtain the conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 5 microns.

Example 12

The difference between example 12 and example 1 only lied in that, in step (2), the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material, nano-Co(OH)2and nano-TIO2were mixed evenly in a high-speed mixer, where the content of Co was 0.1% by mass of the single-crystal positive electrode material, and the proportion of Ti was 50% by mass of Co; which was sieved to obtain the gradient single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 3.8 microns.

Example 13

The difference between example 13 and example 1 only lied in that, in step (1), the sintering temperature was changed as 1000° C., pulverized and graded to obtain the conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 5 microns; in step (2), the obtained conventional single-crystal 613 positive electrode material, and nano-Co(OH)2were mixed evenly in a high-speed mixer, where the content of Co was 10% by mass of the single-crystal positive electrode material, and then held at the second sintering temperature of 930° C. for 5 h, which was sieved to obtain the gradient single-crystal 613 positive electrode material with a D50of 5 microns.

Comparative Example 1

This comparative example 1 was the same as example 1, except that the step (2) of example 1 was omitted.

Comparative Example 2

This comparative example 2 was the same as example 1, except that 118 g of nano-Co(OH)2in step (2) of example 1 was changed as 20 g of nano-Co(OH)2.

Comparative Example 3

This comparative example 3 was the same as example 1, except that the step (3) of example 1 was omitted.

Comparative Example 4

This comparative example 4 was the same as example 1, except that the LiOH·H2O in step (3) of example 1 was omitted.

Comparative Example 5

This comparative example 5 was the same as example 1, except that the sintering temperature in step (2) of example 1 was changed as 650° C.

Comparative Example 6

This comparative example 6 was the same as example 1, except that the sintering temperature in step (2) of example 1 was changed as 950° C.

Comparative Example 7

This comparative example 7 was the same as example 9, except that the step (2) of example 9 was omitted.

The comparisons of capacity, initial coulombic efficiency, rate, resistance, and cycle numbers at 90% retention rate of the positive electrode material ultimately obtained in the above examples and comparative examples are shown in Table 1. The cycle DCRs of example 1 and comparative examples 1, 3, and 4 are shown inFIG.6, and the cycle DCRs of example 9 and comparative example 7 are shown inFIG.7.

TABLE 1Proportionof CoSpecificInitial10%ProportionatomsPowderdischargecoulombicSOCCycleof surfaceat 10%resistivitycapacityefficiencyRateresistancenumberCo atomsdepthQ · cmRoundnessmAh/g%%%NumberExample 10.610.51130.50.6192.2490.1290.13100200Example 20.60.5134.70.6191.5290.0589.37101.55180Example 30.620.49133.40.6191.6889.9590.2199.52210Example 40.610.5132.30.6191.7889.9489.7599.06205Example 50.590.51137.80.6191.4189.8290.32100.15220Example 60.60.51128.90.6194.3290.990.41102.04190Example 70.750.33131.30.5191.9389.9689.94103.32215Example 80.480.39135.60.7191.5290.0290.2198.56198Example 100.610.51132.30.6191.1289.9389.95101.22188Example 110.610.51133.50.65191.849089.28104.12216Example 120.520.45137.80.6190.9589.9689.23104.61209Example 130.750.7126.50.8193.9890.2191.2196.54240Comparative0.10.09160.70.35188.0587.9287.22115.06160example 1Comparative0.20.11145.80.45189.1588.7187.55106.21185example 2Comparative0.60.42230.30.6190.0789.2788.36140.33165example 3Comparative0.620.41170.50.6190.9689.5388.57120.25170example 4Comparative0.920.22150.20.35190.2589.1588.06114.06180example 5Comparative0.410.28156.30.7189.1388.6289.13116.67180example 6

The comparisons of capacity, initial coulombic efficiency, rate, resistance, and cycle numbers at 90% retention rate of the positive electrode material ultimately obtained in the above example 9 and comparative example 7 are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2Proportionof CoSpecificInitial10%ProportionatomsPowderdischargecoulombicSOCCycleof surfaceat 10%resistivitycapacityefficiencyRateresistancenumberCo atomsdepthQ · cmRoundnessmAh/g%%%NumberExample 90.510.32150.60.5184.0889.787.33120.34190Comparative0.050.05220.70.4179.1487.5383.37170.08130example 7

Comparing example 1 with comparative example 1, it can be seen that the gradient of single-crystal materials can significantly improve the discharge capacity, discharge efficiency, and cycle numbers, while reducing the resistance. At the same time, example 9 and comparative example 7 show that the formation of gradient single-crystal on low-cobalt products makes the performance of the battery more significantly enhanced.

Examples 1, 7, and 8, and comparative examples 1 and 2 show that the surface Co content decreases and the battery performance significantly decreases.

Example 1 and comparative examples 3 and 4 show that coating the surface with a lithium compound is an effective measure to reduce material resistance.

Example 1 and comparative examples 5 and 6 show that the secondary sintering temperature has a significant impact on the gradient distribution of elements, and the gradient distribution of elements also has a significant impact on the electrical performance of materials. When the temperature is low, the content of Co on the surface is high, while when the temperature is high, more Co is melted into the interior of the material. Examples 7 and 8 show that the gradient distribution of Co is within the scope of the requirements of this patent, and the material performance is excellent.

Examples 10 and 11, and comparative example 1 show that the performances of the gradient single-crystal materials prepared in the range of the ratio of Li to the sum of the molar numbers of Ni, Co, and A from 0.9 to 1.25:1 are superior to those of conventional single-crystal materials.

Examples 12 and 13, and comparative example 1 show that the performances of the gradient single-crystal materials prepared by adding elements within the required content range are superior to those of conventional single-crystal materials.

The comparison between example 1 and example 2 shows that the performance of example 2 is poor, which is related to the fact that the mixing effect of nano-metals is not as uniform as the element distribution of precursors prepared by the coprecipitation method.

ComparingFIG.1andFIG.2, it can be seen that during the process of single crystal gradient, the sharp edges and corners of single crystal particles are significantly reduced, the roundness is significantly improved, and the particles become smoother. Such conclusions can also be obtained from the cross-sectional electron micrographs (FIGS.3and4) of the material. In addition, during the gradient process, further fusion occurs at the particle contact sites, making the material more dense.

It can be concluded from bothFIGS.6and7that the increase of DCR during the cycle process can be significantly inhibited by gradient single crystal materials, and the inhibition effect is more obvious on low-cobalt materials. In addition,FIG.6shows that coating the surface with a lithium-containing compound also has a significant impact on the change of DCR during the cycle process, especially at the beginning of the cycle, where the DCR is relatively low.

It should be noted that the description of these embodiments is intended to facilitate the understanding of the disclosure, but does not constitute a limitation to the disclosure. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the disclosure as described above can be combined with each other as long as they do not constitute a conflict with each other. In addition, the above contents are only partial embodiments of the disclosure, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those ordinary skills in the art without creative works fall within the scope of protection of the disclosure.