Patent ID: 8349491

Claim:
A lithium secondary battery comprising: a positive electrode; a negative electrode comprising a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode active material layer formed on the negative electrode current collector, the negative electrode active material layer comprising a binder and negative electrode active material particles containing silicon and/or a silicon alloy; a separator interposed between the electrodes; an electrode assembly comprising the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the separator; and a non-aqueous electrolyte impregnated in the electrode assembly, wherein the negative electrode binder contains a polyimide resin having a structure represented by the following chemical formula (1), and the polyimide resin has a weight average molecular weight of from 50,000 to less than 150,000 and has a molecular weight distribution such that the weight ratio of a polyimide resin having a molecular weight of less than 100,000 and a polyimide resin having a molecular'weight from 100,000 to less than 200,000 is from 50:50 to 90:10: where n is an integer equal to or greater than 1, and R is a functional group represented by the following chemical formula (2) or (3):