Register for free to
view the full innovation profile.
The coatings can be as thin as 2 Ångstroms thick. The coating provides for a stable electrode. Batteries containing the electrodes tend to exhibit high cycling capacities.
About
Description: This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/354,288, filed 14 Jun. 2010. Statement of government interest: This invention was made with government support under DE-FG02-08ER86337, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention. Lithium ion batteries form a fast-growing segment of the battery market. They are of great interest in many applications, including hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. These batteries are often manufactured with a lithium-transition metal oxide or a lithium-transition metal phosphate cathode and a graphite electrode. The electrodes are generally formed from starting powders which are held together by one or more binder materials. For this reason, the electrodes tend to have porous structures. In one aspect, this invention is a process for preparing a lithium ion battery electrode, comprising shaping a mixture of particles of a cathode or anode material and a binder to form a shaped lithium ion battery electrode in which the particles are held together by the binder, and applying a coating to the shaped lithium ion battery electrode via an atomic layer deposition process.