Designing EV Batteries with Lithium-Metal Anodes

Negative electrode for lithium metal batteries with improved cycle life and reduced volumetric change during charging. The negative electrode has a protective layer on the lithium metal surface with particles sizes between 1-100 microns. The protective layer has a Young's modulus of 106 Pa or greater. This provides mechanical strength to prevent dendrite growth and volumetric expansion during charging. The protective layer also improves lithium deposition density compared to bare lithium metal electrodes.

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An all solid state battery design to prevent short circuits in the anode during charging by controlling the resistance distribution. The battery has a coating layer with lithium titanate on the anode current collector. The coating exists in the region where the anode and cathode are opposing but is omitted in the region where they are not opposed. This helps balance charge reaction progression in both regions. In the opposed region, the coating provides a conductive path to lower anode potential. In the non-opposed region, the coating omission reduces resistance compared to the coated region. This prevents uneven charge reaction progression and minimizes short circuits in the anode.

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Active material for high-performance lithium-ion battery negative electrodes that balances capacity, cycle life, and energy density. The active material contains both Nb2TiO7 and Nb-rich phases like Nb10Ti2O29, Nb14TiO37, and Nb24TiO64. It also has optimized particle size distribution and contains potassium and phosphorus. The Nb-rich phases improve overcharge resistance and cycle life. The potassium and phosphorus help suppress particle growth during synthesis. The particle size distribution is fine enough for good rate performance but not excessively small to prevent cracking during cycling.

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Lithium metal composite electrode material for lithium metal batteries with improved cycle stability and reduced dendrite formation compared to conventional lithium metal electrodes. The composite electrode material has a lithium-containing conductive layer grown in situ on the surfaces of lithium metal particles. This layer isolates the lithium metal from the electrolyte to reduce irreversible reactions and dendrite growth. The layer includes an inorganic lithium compound and lithium alloy. The layer serves as a 3D framework structure that coats the lithium metal particles. This framework reduces volume expansion and dendrite formation during cycling. The composite electrode material is prepared by mixing lithium metal, a metal compound, and conductive carbon, then heat treating to grow the in situ layer.

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Positive electrode material for lithium-ion batteries with improved cycle life and capacity retention. The material contains a first substance with a crack and a second substance inside the crack. The first substance contains cobalt, manganese, nickel, lithium, oxygen, magnesium, and fluorine. The second substance contains phosphorus and oxygen. The crack formation during battery manufacturing is leveraged to create a unique microstructure that enhances stability during high voltage charging and discharging.

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A lithium metal negative electrode for lithium-ion batteries that addresses the issues of dendrite formation and interface side reactions. The electrode has a porous carbon layer with pores formed by desorbing adsorbed gas during slurry coating. This creates a 3D pore structure in the carbon layer that prevents dendrite growth and reduces side reactions compared to a smooth carbon layer. The pore structure allows lithium metal to deposit inside the pores instead of on the surface, reducing dendrite formation. The pores also provide a pathway for lithium ion transfer, mitigating side reactions.

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Batteries with improved safety, cycling stability, and energy density by using lithiated carbon-coated lithium metal anodes, sulfurized carbon cathodes, and graphene nanoribbon (GNR) modified separators. The lithiated carbon coating on lithium metal prevents dendrite formation during charging, the sulfurized carbon cathodes have high capacity and reduced polysulfide shuttle, and the GNR-modified separators prevent sulfur migration.

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Anode electrode for battery cells that allows uniform thickness deposition of lithium metal without size limitations. The anode electrode is manufactured by forming a lithium metal layer on a substrate, then pressing it into the voids of a 3D anode current collector. This transfers the lithium metal from the substrate to the current collector. The substrate can be a separator, polymer film, or solid electrolyte. Removing the substrate after pressing allows a uniform lithium layer on the current collector. The 3D current collector levels the lithium layer when pressed.

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Manufacturing a high-purity lithium metal anode for lithium-metal batteries using an electrolytic cell and a blanketing atmosphere free of lithium reactive components. The cell has two chambers separated by a lithium-ion selective membrane. Lithium is electrodeposited on a stationary substrate in the cell using a constant current. This creates a lithium metal anode with a layer bonded to the substrate and membrane. The blanketing prevents impurities. This method provides a pure lithium anode for lithium-metal batteries, overcoming impurity issues.

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Secondary battery with improved performance for lithium metal anodes using a protective layer and electrolyte composition. The battery has a negative electrode with an alkali metal, like lithium, covered by a fluoroelastomer protective layer. The electrolyte contains fluorinated and non-fluorinated ether compounds. This setup reduces side reactions between the lithium and electrolyte, mitigating dendrite growth and improving cycle life. The fluorinated ether compounds provide improved ionic conductivity and safety compared to traditional ether electrolytes. The non-fluorinated ether compounds help optimize solvent properties. The protective layer further reduces contact between lithium and electrolyte to minimize side reactions.

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A manufacturing method for lithium battery negative electrodes that improves performance and facilitates mass production. The method involves electroplating lithium onto copper foil, then attaching a protective film to the lithium-copper composite. This prevents oxidation and improves cycle life compared to unprotected lithium foil. The electroplating and film attachment steps are done in a specialized chamber with wheels to transport the foil. The chamber has features like solvent removal devices, gas environment, and separate foil and film supply lines.

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Designing electrolytes for lithium metal batteries that enable stable cycling, high coulombic efficiency, and low dendrite formation. The electrolytes utilize nonfluorinated and nonfully fluorinated ether solvents designed through strategies like steric hindrance tuning and coordination geometry modification. These solvents balance Li+ solvation, electrode stability, and ionic conductivity for improved lithium metal battery performance compared to conventional ether electrolytes.

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Electrode for lithium-ion batteries with improved stability and cycling performance. The electrode has an electrode layer containing lithium metal or alloy, covered by a film containing fluorine, sulfur, and nitrogen. The FSN film forms on the electrode surface during cycling and prevents lithium dendrite growth, reducing resistance and enabling better cycling compared to unmodified electrodes.

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Manufacturing method for a lithium battery negative electrode that improves stability and cycle life of the battery. The method involves electroplating lithium onto a copper foil using an electrolyte solution containing an organic solvent and a fluorine-containing lithium salt. The organic solvent is an ester, ether, or alcohol, and the fluorine salt is like LiPF6, LiFSI, or LiTFSI. The solvent ratio is >50%, and the fluorine salt concentration is 0.1-5 mol/L. This results in a smooth, dendrite-free lithium deposition on the copper foil that reduces issues like dead lithium and short circuiting compared to pure lithium electrodes.

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Electrode design for lithium metal batteries that suppresses lithium dendrite formation and improves cycle life. The electrode has a silica layer with plate-like porous silica on the current collector. The silica pores have cylindrical shape. This allows uniform lithium deposition and prevents dendrite growth during cycling compared to conventional carbon-based layers. The silica layer also reduces weight/volume vs inert oxide layers.

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Anode design for lithium metal batteries that prevents dendrite formation and improves cycle life. The anode has a layered structure with a host layer of carbon beads, followed by inner layers containing carbon beads and low conductivity polymers. The low conductivity polymer layers surround the carbon beads and restrict lithium diffusion, preventing dendrite growth. The host layer provides electrical contact and allows lithium plating/stripping. The polymer layers promote uniform lithium deposition.

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Self-forming solid state batteries that can be made by reacting anode materials with a solution containing an oxidant to form an electrolyte layer in-situ. The batteries are substantially free of combustible organic solvents and can have higher energy densities than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The in-situ electrolyte formation allows using reactive anode materials like lithium without the need for a separate electrolyte. The batteries can also have a self-healing electrolyte by using a polymer that crosslinks when exposed to sulfur from the anode.

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Lithium metal secondary battery with improved cycle life by using an alloy layer containing indium and tin between the electrolyte and negative electrode. The indium-tin alloy layer prevents peeling of the electrolyte interface during cycling, improving cycle performance compared to bare lithium metal. The battery has a configuration of negative electrode, alloy layer, electrolyte, positive electrode, with the alloy layer containing an indium-tin alloy.

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Lithium metal battery with improved stability and cycle life using a special anode electrodeposition layer. The anode has a current collector with a layer of chromium-containing material over it. This induces uniform lithium deposition and prevents dendrite growth compared to plain current collectors. The chromium reduces reactivity with the electrolyte and suppresses side reactions. This improves stability and reduces capacity fade compared to bare current collectors.

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Coating a lithium metal anode (LMA) in lithium ion batteries with a thin layer of a lithium-rich alloy of a lithiophilic metal like zinc, indium, tin, aluminum, silver, or gallium to mitigate lithium dendrite growth, minimize corrosion, and improve wettability. The lithium alloy coating acts as a protective layer to prevent corrosion and enriches the SEI layer with nitrogen-based species to increase lithium ion flux and plating size.

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