Cathode Precursor Coprecipitation for Uniform Battery Composition
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lithium battery technologies face challenges with non-uniform composition, poor batch consistency, and poor electrical performance due to mechanical mixing methods, leading to issues with specific capacity and cycling performance.
Innovation Solution
A precursor material comprising Mn x Fe y M (1-x-y) HPO 4 ·nH 2 O with controlled preparation methods, including dissolution, slow addition to phosphoric acid, aging, and filtration to achieve a uniform distribution of elements, resulting in a positive electrode material with improved batch consistency and reduced impurities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If mechanical mixing methods are used to prepare positive electrode material, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the composition is non-uniform and batch consistency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical mixing methods with a wet chemical synthesis method. The precursor material is prepared by dissolving metal salts in water, adding phosphoric acid solution, aging, and filtration to form a uniform precipitate. This chemical approach ensures homogeneous distribution of Mn, Fe, and doping elements at the molecular level, eliminating the composition non-uniformity inherent in mechanical mixing while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls the aging temperature (60-90°C) and aging time (1-6 hours) parameters to optimize the precipitation process. By adjusting these parameters, the synthesis achieves both high composition uniformity and good batch consistency. The controlled aging process allows complete reaction and uniform crystal growth, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and precision.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional preparation methods are used, then the process is straightforward, but electrical performance and specific capacity are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical mixing and sintering with a wet chemical synthesis method that produces a uniform precursor material. The controlled precipitation and aging processes ensure homogeneous element distribution and proper crystal structure formation, leading to superior electrical performance and specific capacity while maintaining a straightforward manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by preparing a uniform precursor material through controlled chemical synthesis before the final sintering step. The aging process pre-forms the crystal structure with uniform element distribution, and the subsequent sintering only needs to complete the reaction and remove water, significantly improving the final product's electrical performance while keeping the overall process straightforward.
3Ease of manufacture
If element distribution is non-uniform, then manufacturing is easier, but cycling performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical mixing with wet chemical synthesis to achieve uniform element distribution in the precursor material. The controlled precipitation and aging processes ensure homogeneous distribution of Mn, Fe, and doping elements throughout the material, which is critical for maintaining stable cycling performance. This approach maintains manufacturing ease while dramatically improving cycling performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the aging temperature (60-90°C) and aging time (1-6 hours) parameters to ensure complete and uniform element distribution in the precursor. These controlled parameters allow sufficient time for homogeneous crystal growth and element distribution, which directly translates to improved cycling performance while keeping the manufacturing process simple and easy to implement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the specific capacity and cycling performance of lithium batteries by ensuring uniform element distribution and low impurity content in the positive electrode material, improving electrical properties.
Implementation Method 1
dissolving a soluble manganese source, a soluble iron source, and a soluble source of an M element in a solvent to obtain a solution
Implementation Method 2
slowly adding the solution to a phosphoric acid solution for reaction
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
A precursor material, a method for preparing the precursor material, a positive electrode material, a method for preparing the positive electrode material, a positive electrode plate, a battery, and an electric apparatus. The precursor material includes a compound MnxFeyM(1-x-y)HPO4·nH2O, where 0.9 ≤ x+y < 1,0 < x ≤ 0.9, 0 < y ≤ 0.9, 0 ≤ n ≤ 6, and M includes one or more of transition metal elements other than manganese and iron, Group IIA metal elements, Group IIIA metal elements, and Group IVA metal elements. The precursor material has a uniform distribution of elements and good batch consistency, and a prepared positive electrode material has a uniform distribution of elements and good batch consistency, improving the specific capacity and cycling performance of a battery.