JP2008041404A - Method of manufacturing electrode - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture, with high mass-productivity, an electrode capable of preventing an internal short circuit in assembling a battery. <P>SOLUTION: This method of manufacturing the electrode is characterized by comprising processes of: forming long slits at certain intervals in a direction vertical to the longitudinal direction on a strip-like electrode including a strip-like collector and active material-containing layers 4 formed on both surfaces of the strip-like collector; arranging a strip-like first separator 1a on one surface of the strip-like electrode and arranging a strip-like second separator 1b on a surface thereof opposite to it; heat-sealing at least a part 14 of parts where the first separator 1a and the second separator 1b come into contact with each other through the slits of the strip-like electrode; and providing the electrode covered with a tubular separator with the heat-sealed parts 14 positioned at both its ends by cutting the heat-sealed part 14 in a direction vertical to the longitudinal direction along with the strip-like electrode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrode manufacturing method suitable for manufacturing a nonaqueous electrolyte battery electrode.

  The battery electrode group configured by stacking the negative electrode / separator / positive electrode or the positive electrode / separator / negative electrode in one layer, for example, stores one electrode in a bag-shaped separator, and the other electrode It is produced by alternately laminating electrodes. Alternatively, a method of forming a single layer by winding a positive electrode and a negative electrode in a sheet-like separator may be used. In addition, there are a method of cutting or punching a sheet-like or film-like material into a predetermined size in a rotary dial, and sequentially stacking current collectors, or a method of producing manually by human beings.

  For example, Patent Document 1 is a technique for continuously producing a bag-shaped separator with an electrode plate, and Patent Document 2 shows a method for continuously manufacturing a battery-shaped bag-shaped separator. Further, in Patent Document 3, when a strip-shaped positive electrode is wrapped with a separator, one end of the positive electrode along the longitudinal direction of the positive electrode is folded back, and the other and the bottom are heat-sealed. It is described that the positive electrode is accommodated. Patent Document 4 discloses that the positive electrode is housed in a bag-shaped separator by folding the separator into a U shape, wrapping the positive electrode, and thermally fusing both ends bent into a U shape.

However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the electrode is stored in a bag-shaped separator, the surface of the electrode rubs against the inner wall surface of the separator so that the active material is easily peeled off from the current collector. There are problems such as triggering. On the other hand, according to Patent Documents 3 and 4, since the electrodes are coated one by one with the separator and then the separator is processed into a bag shape by heat sealing, there is a problem that the productivity is inferior.
JP-A-10-106588 JP-A-8-180852 JP-A-5-315209 JP-A-10-55795

  An object of the present invention is to manufacture an electrode capable of avoiding an internal short circuit when assembling a battery with high productivity.

In the electrode manufacturing method according to the present invention, a strip-shaped electrode including a strip-shaped current collector and an active material-containing layer formed on both surfaces of the strip-shaped current collector is spaced by a long slit in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Opening and forming, and
Disposing a strip-shaped first separator on one surface of the strip-shaped electrode and disposing a strip-shaped second separator on the opposite surface;
Heat-sealing at least a part of a portion where the first separator and the second separator are in contact with each other through the slit of the strip electrode;
Cutting the heat fusion part together with the belt-like electrode in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction to obtain an electrode covered with a cylindrical separator in which the heat fusion part is located at both ends. Features.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electrode which can avoid the internal short circuit at the time of assembling a battery can be manufactured with sufficient mass productivity.

(First step)
A strip-shaped first and second separator are prepared. In FIG. 1, the 1st separator 1a pulled out from the hoop state is shown.

  A porous sheet can be used for the first and second separators. As a porous sheet, a synthetic resin nonwoven fabric, a polyethylene porous film, a polypropylene porous film, etc. can be used, for example.

  A strip-shaped negative electrode 2 as shown in FIG. 2 is prepared. This strip-shaped negative electrode 2 is composed of a strip-shaped negative electrode current collector 3 and a negative electrode active material-containing layer 4 formed by excluding one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the negative electrode current collector 3 (hereinafter referred to as an active material non-formation portion). And have. The negative electrode current collector 3 is desirably formed from aluminum having an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm or less or an aluminum alloy having an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm or less. Thereby, the overdischarge characteristic of a nonaqueous electrolyte battery can be improved. A more preferable average crystal particle size is 3 μm or less. Moreover, it is desirable that the lower limit value of the average crystal particle diameter is 0.01 μm.

The average crystal particle diameter of aluminum and aluminum alloy is measured by the method described below. The structure of the current collector surface is observed with a metal microscope, the number n of crystal grains existing in a 1 mm × 1 mm visual field is measured, and the average crystal grain area S (μm ² ) is calculated from the following formula (A).

S = (1 × 10 ⁶ ) / n (A)
Here, the value represented by (1 × 10 ⁶ ) is a visual field area (μm ² ) of 1 mm × 1 mm, and n is the number of crystal grains.

  The average crystal particle diameter d (μm) is calculated from the following formula (B) using the obtained average crystal particle area S. Such calculation of the average crystal particle diameter d was performed for five locations (five fields of view), and the average value was defined as the average crystal particle diameter. Note that the assumed error is about 5%.

d = 2 (S / π) ^1/2 (B)
The thickness of the negative electrode current collector is preferably 20 μm or less in order to increase the capacity. A more preferable range is 12 μm or less. Further, the lower limit value of the thickness of the negative electrode current collector is desirably 3 μm.

As the negative electrode active material, for example, an oxide such as Nb ₂ O ₅ , LiTi ₂ O ₄ , Li ₄ Ti ₅ O ₁₂ or Li-containing silicon oxide, Li-containing nitride, or the like is applicable.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the negative electrode 2 drawn out from the hoop state are fixed to the guide 5, and then through holes 6 for positioning are punched with punches 7 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. . Thereafter, the negative electrode 2 is conveyed to the next step. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a guide 8 in which a joining pin 9 is formed at a location corresponding to the through hole 6 is prepared. The negative electrode 2 is positioned by inserting the joining pins 9 of the guide 8 into the through holes 6 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the negative electrode 2. This makes it possible to perform the punching process described below with high accuracy.

  By punching, as shown in FIG. 6, long slits 10 are formed at equal intervals in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction L of the strip-shaped negative electrode 2. The interval between the slits 10 is desirably equal to the width in the short side direction of the strip-shaped negative electrode incorporated in the battery. At the present stage, the negative electrode 2 is a single belt-like sheet, but is finally divided into a plurality of leaves by the subsequent processes. The active material non-forming portion 3 is punched so that the negative electrode terminal 11 is formed on each of the divided negative electrodes. The negative electrode active material-containing layer 4 positioned between the slits 10 corresponds to the negative electrode active material-containing layer of the divided negative electrode. The portion corresponding to the negative electrode terminal 11 and the portion 3 a fixed by the joining pin 9 are left so that the negative electrode terminal 11 is drawn out from the vicinity of the center of the short side of each of the negative electrode active material-containing layers 4 positioned between the slits 10. The active material non-forming part 3 is punched out. In FIG. 6, the punched portion is indicated by the same shaded area as that of the guide 8. Further, perforations 12 for separating the strip-shaped negative electrodes one by one are formed so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped negative electrode 2. In addition, it is possible to punch the part 13 corresponding to the short side of the negative electrode processed into a strip shape as needed. Since the first separator 1a and the second separator 1b are in contact with each other through the formed slit 13, the negative electrode can be accommodated in the bag-shaped separator by thermally fusing this part in the third step described later. .

(Second step)
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the punched negative electrode 2 is disposed on the first separator 1a. FIG. 7 shows a state where about half of the negative electrode 2 overlaps the first separator 1a, and FIG. 8 shows a state where the negative electrode 2 and the first separator 1a completely overlap. Next, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the second separator 1 b is pulled out of the hoop state in the same manner as the first separator 1 a and is stacked on the strip-shaped negative electrode 2. FIG. 9 shows a state where about half of the negative electrode 2 is covered with the second separator 1b, and FIG. 10 shows a state where the negative electrode 2 and the second separator 1b are completely overlapped. The first separator 1a and the second separator 1b are positioned so as to completely cover the active material-containing layer 4. Thereby, the 1st separator 1a and the 2nd separator 1b contact through the slit 10 formed in the strip | belt-shaped negative electrode 2. FIG.

(Third step)
A portion where the first separator 1a and the second separator 1b are in contact through the slit 10 is partially heat-sealed. In FIG. 11, the hatched area is the heat-sealed portion 14 and 15 is the non-heat-fused portion. By partial heat fusion, the non-heat fusion part 15 can be used as a diffusion path of the liquid non-aqueous electrolyte, and the diffusibility of the non-aqueous electrolyte to the negative electrode can be improved. In addition, you may heat-seal the whole contact part of the 1st separator 1a and the 2nd separator 1b.

  By the third step, the negative electrode can be covered with the separator without rubbing the surface of the negative electrode active material-containing layer 4 with the separator. Moreover, in the process so far, the negative electrode and the separator are also characterized by being a continuous sheet.

(4th process)
A laminate of the first separator 1a, the negative electrode 2, and the second separator 1b is cut along the short side direction. Specifically, it is cut along the perforation 12 shown in FIG. 11 so that the heat fusion part 14 and the non-heat fusion part 15 are divided into two parts, and a cylindrical separator as shown in FIGS. A coated strip-shaped negative electrode 16 is obtained. That is, the negative electrode active material containing layers 4 are formed on both surfaces of the strip-shaped negative electrode current collector 3. The strip-shaped negative electrode terminal 11 is drawn out from the vicinity of the center of the short side of the negative electrode current collector 3. One surface (the upper surface in FIG. 13) of the negative electrode active material-containing layer 4 is covered with a first separator 1a that is slightly larger than this. The other surface (the lower surface in FIG. 13) is covered with a second separator 1b that is slightly larger than this. At both end portions of the first separator 1a and the second separator 1b on the longitudinal direction side, heat fusion portions 14 and non-heat fusion portions 15 are alternately formed.

  On the other hand, as the positive electrode 17, a strip-shaped positive electrode current collector 17 a having a positive electrode active material containing layer 17 b formed on both surfaces was prepared. The positive electrode terminal 18 is drawn from the vicinity of the center of the short side of the positive electrode current collector. The positive electrode current collector is desirably formed of aluminum having an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm or less or an aluminum alloy having an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm or less. Thereby, the overdischarge characteristic of a nonaqueous electrolyte battery can be improved. A more preferable average crystal particle size is 3 μm or less. Moreover, it is desirable that the lower limit value of the average crystal particle diameter is 0.01 μm.

  The thickness of the positive electrode current collector is preferably 20 μm or less in order to increase the capacity. A more preferable range is 15 μm or less. Moreover, it is desirable that the lower limit value of the thickness of the positive electrode current collector be 3 μm.

The positive electrode active material is not limited, and MnO ₂ , V ₂ O ₅ , Nb ₂ O ₅ , LiTi ₂ O ₄ , Li ₄ Ti ₅ O ₁₂ , LiFe ₂ O ₄ , lithium cobaltate, lithium nickelate, lithium manganate, lithium nickel manganese oxide, lithium nickel cobaltate, lithium cobalt manganese, metal oxides such as lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, or fluorinated graphite, inorganic compounds such as FeS _2, or polyaniline and such polyacene structure Any substance such as an organic compound is applicable. However, lithium-containing oxides in which lithium cobaltate, lithium nickelate, lithium manganate, mixtures thereof, or some of these elements are substituted with other metal elements are high in terms of operating potential and excellent cycle characteristics. In a non-aqueous electrolyte battery that may be used for a long period of time, lithium cobaltate is more preferable in terms of high capacity, low reactivity with the electrolyte and moisture, and chemical stability.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the positive electrode 17 is stacked on the first separator 1a on the negative electrode 16, and one unit of the first separator 1a / negative electrode 16 / second separator 1b / positive electrode 17 is produced. At this time, the lamination is performed so that the lead-out direction of the positive electrode terminal 18 is opposite to the lead-out direction of the negative electrode terminal 11. By stacking the units by such a method, it is possible to manufacture the flat laminated electrode group 19. In the stacked electrode group 19, the positive terminals 18 drawn out for each positive leaf are bundled together and welded to the external positive lead 24. Further, the negative electrode terminals 11 drawn out for each leaf of the negative electrode are bundled together and welded to the external negative electrode lead 25. The external positive electrode lead 24 and the external negative electrode lead 25 are pulled out from the container as will be described later.

  A container in which the obtained stacked electrode group 19 is stored is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the container 20 is formed by subjecting the laminate film to an electrode group storage portion 21 formed of a rectangular recess formed by, for example, deep drawing or pressing, and processing of the laminate film. And a rectangular lid 22 made of a flat plate portion. When the laminate film is folded back to the container side along the dotted line, the electrode group storage portion 21 can be covered with the lid 22. The inner surface of the lid 22 is joined to the three sides 23a to 23c at the periphery of the opening of the electrode group storage portion 21 by, for example, heat sealing. FIG. 16 shows a state in which the lid body 22 is joined to the three sides 23 a to 23 c at the periphery of the opening of the electrode group storage portion 21 and arranged with the lid body 22 facing down. As the laminate film, for example, a laminate film in which a metal layer is disposed between a thermoplastic resin layer and a resin layer can be used. Since the thermoplastic resin layer is positioned on the inner surfaces of the electrode group storage portion 21 and the lid body 22, the lid body 22 can be joined to the electrode group storage portion 21 by thermal fusion. The thermoplastic resin layer is made of, for example, polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). The metal layer is preferably an aluminum foil or an aluminum alloy foil. The resin layer is used to reinforce the metal layer and can be formed from a polymer such as nylon or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

  The stacked electrode group 19 is accommodated in the electrode group accommodating portion 21 of the container 20 while holding the nonaqueous electrolyte. As shown in FIG. 16, the external positive electrode lead 24 is drawn out from between the short side 23 b of the periphery of the opening of the electrode group storage portion 21 and the lid body 22, and the external negative electrode lead 25 is connected to the electrode group storage portion 21. It is pulled out from between the short side 23a on the opposite side of the peripheral edge of the opening and the lid body 22. The long side 23c at the periphery of the opening of the electrode group storage portion 21 and the lid body 22 are joined by heat fusion and then bent substantially vertically.

  In the battery manufacturing method according to the present embodiment described above, the electrode is stacked on the first separator, and the second separator is placed on the electrode, instead of inserting the electrode into the bag-shaped separator in advance. Since the first separator and the second separator are fused together, it is possible to prevent peeling of the active material, which is a concern when inserting the bag-like separator. Further, since a plurality of electrodes can be accommodated in the separator by one operation, it is excellent in mass productivity.

  Furthermore, by arranging one electrode in the cylindrical separator, it is possible to prevent a short circuit even when the electrode is displaced during the stacking process. Moreover, even when a current collector with insufficient strength such as a current collector formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy having an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm or less is used, the current collector is efficiently stored in the separator. Is possible. Furthermore, according to the method according to the present embodiment, it is possible to combine two types of separators having different materials that cannot be achieved by the method of storing each electrode in the separator. For example, it is possible to use two types of separators having different porosity.

[Example]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Example 1)
As the first and second separators, a high-density polyethylene microporous membrane having a width of 43 mm was prepared. Negative electrode active material containing Li ₄ Ti ₅ O ₁₂ as a negative electrode active material in a negative electrode current collector made of an aluminum foil (purity 99.99%) having a width of 52 mm, a thickness of 20 μm, and an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm A layer was formed with a width of 42 mm to form a negative electrode.

A positive electrode active material-containing layer containing LiCoO ₂ as a positive electrode active material is formed on a positive electrode current collector made of an aluminum foil (purity 99.99%) having a width of 52 mm, a thickness of 20 μm, and an average crystal particle diameter of 50 μm. To form a positive electrode.

  A nonaqueous electrolyte battery was produced by the method shown in FIGS. 1 to 16 using the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the separator. The number of units constituting the stacked electrode group was 10 units. Thirty non-aqueous electrolyte batteries of the examples were prepared, the internal short circuit occurrence rate was inspected, and the results are shown in Table 1 below.

(Comparative Example 1)
The first separator and the second separator were used without heat fusion. That is, the first separator, the negative electrode, the second separator, and the positive electrode were laminated in this order to form one unit. Using 10 units of this unit, a laminated electrode group was produced, 30 non-aqueous electrolyte batteries were produced using the obtained laminated electrode group, the internal short-circuit occurrence rate was examined, and the results are shown in Table 1. It was.

(Comparative Example 2)
After the separator is made into a bag shape by using human hands, the negative electrode is placed in the bag-like separator by hand, and the positive electrode is overlaid by hand to produce a unit. A non-aqueous electrolyte battery was prepared. The internal short-circuit occurrence rate was inspected in the same manner as in the examples, and the results are shown in Table 1.

  As shown in Table 1, according to the method according to the present embodiment, there is no occurrence of internal short circuit after battery assembly due to peeling of the active material, and it is excellent in mass productivity. It became possible to form a bag-like separator using a separator.

  On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1 using the stacked electrode group in which the separator is interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode in a sheet form, and in Comparative Example 2 in which the negative electrode is housed in a bag-shaped separator in advance, the internal short-circuit occurrence rate is it was high.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The top view which shows the 1st separator used with the method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the negative electrode used with the method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The schematic diagram which shows the process of drilling the hole for positioning in the negative electrode of FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the process of attaching the negative electrode of FIG. 3 to a guide. The side view which looked at the negative electrode fixed to the guide of FIG. 4 from the long side side end surface (long side side end surface in which the negative electrode active material content layer was formed). The schematic diagram which shows the process of stamping to the negative electrode of FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the process of arrange | positioning a 1st separator to the negative electrode to which the punching process was given. The schematic diagram which shows the process of arrange | positioning a 1st separator to the negative electrode to which the punching process was given. The schematic diagram which shows the process of arrange | positioning a 2nd separator to the negative electrode to which the punching process was given. The schematic diagram which shows the process of arrange | positioning a 2nd separator to the negative electrode to which the punching process was given. The schematic diagram which shows the process of heat-seal | fusing a 1st separator and a 2nd separator. The top view which shows the negative electrode accommodated in the cylindrical separator by the method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the separator accommodation negative electrode of FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a stacked electrode group manufactured by a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the container in which the laminated electrode group of FIG. 14 is accommodated. The perspective view which shows the nonaqueous electrolyte battery manufactured by the method which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a ... 1st separator, 1b ... 2nd separator, 2 ... Strip | belt-shaped negative electrode, 3 ... Negative electrode collector, 4 ... Negative electrode active material containing layer, 5, 8 ... Guide, 6 ... Through-hole for positioning, 9 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Joining pin, 10 ... Slit, 11 ... Negative electrode terminal, 12 ... Perforation, 14 ... Thermal fusion part, 15 ... Non-thermal fusion part, 16 ... Negative electrode, 17 ... Positive electrode, 17a ... Positive electrode collector, 17b ... Positive electrode active material-containing layer, 18 ... positive electrode terminal, 19 ... stacked electrode group, 20 ... container, 21 ... electrode group housing, 22 ... lid, 24 ... external positive electrode lead, 25 ... external negative electrode lead.

Claims (4)

Forming a long slit in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at intervals in a band-shaped electrode including a band-shaped current collector and an active material-containing layer formed on both surfaces of the band-shaped current collector;
Disposing a strip-shaped first separator on one surface of the strip-shaped electrode and disposing a strip-shaped second separator on the opposite surface;
Heat-sealing at least a part of a portion where the first separator and the second separator are in contact with each other through the slit of the strip electrode;
Cutting the heat fusion part together with the belt-like electrode in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction to obtain an electrode covered with a cylindrical separator in which the heat fusion part is located at both ends. A method for producing an electrode.   The active material-containing layer is formed excluding one end portion parallel to the longitudinal direction of both surfaces of the strip-shaped current collector, and is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at a portion of the strip-shaped electrode where the active material-containing layer is formed. 2. The method of manufacturing an electrode according to claim 1, wherein a long slit is formed in a certain direction at intervals, and a terminal is formed by punching one end of the strip-shaped current collector parallel to the longitudinal direction.   3. The electrode manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the strip-shaped current collector is formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy having an average crystal particle diameter of 50 [mu] m or less.   The method of manufacturing an electrode according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the band-shaped current collector has a thickness of 20 µm or less.

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