WO2006105742A1

WO2006105742A1 - Rechargeable battery

Info

Publication number: WO2006105742A1
Application number: PCT/DE2005/000604
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jörg ARNOLD
Original assignee: Ip2H Ag
Priority date: 2005-04-06
Filing date: 2005-04-06
Publication date: 2006-10-12
Also published as: DE112005003601A5

Abstract

A rechargeable battery having two electrodes (1, 2) is designed and developed with regard to a particularly high capacity such that at least one electrode (2) has an associated exciter (3) arranged outside the electrode (2) for the purpose of producing a movement and/or an excited state of at least one part or region of the electrode (2) or of the entire electrode (2).

Description

ACCUMULATOR

The present invention relates to an accumulator with two electrodes.

Electrical accumulators or rechargeable batteries of the type mentioned are long known and exist in a variety of embodiments. These are in particular secondary cells, which offer the advantage of rechargeability, wherein the discharge process can be forcibly reversed by applying an external electrical voltage. A secondary cell is formed, for example, by an electrolytic cell in which two electrodes - cathode and anode - are immersed in serving as an ion conductor electrolyte. In other words, the invention relates to a device for the electrochemical storage of electrical energy.

Accumulators of the type mentioned are used for the operation of mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones, handhelds, video cameras, digital cameras, laptop PCs, PDAs, organizers, music players, watches, GPS navigation devices, calculators, flashlights, electric toothbrushes and so on. The limited energy capacity of the known accumulators is a disturbing disadvantage. For example, conventional laptop PCs can hardly operate more than one hour with the associated accumulators.

From practice, accumulators are also known which have radioactive anodes in which radioactive substances are applied to the anode surface or in which the radioactive substances are arranged in the anodes. Activation by means of radioactive substances has the task here of accelerating electrochemical reactions on the anode surface. Furthermore, accumulators are known in which the electrolyte is radioactive or is excited by mechanical vibrations. This type of activation or excitation has the task to increase the electrolyte conductivity or to destroy electrical double layers in the electrolyte.

Accumulators are formed for example by lithium-ion batteries. In this type of battery, in the charging cycle, electric charge becomes that of lithium ions is transported from a lithium-containing cathode under the action of an applied electric field in a carbon anode. In this case, the lithium ions undergo an ion-conducting electrolyte and a lithium ion permeable ion separation membrane. The lithium ions are incorporated into the carbon grid of the anode. The electrical energy stored thereby is proportional to the number of free lithium charges in the carbon anode. The higher the charge voltage applied from the outside, the more lithium ions can be driven into the anode.

In the discharge cycle, the lithium ion secondary battery is then disconnected from the external charging voltage and electrically shorted. Thus, because of their mutual coulombic repulsion, the lithium ions leave the anode again and travel back to the cathode. Upon leaving the anode they release the discharge current to the cathode in the outer shorting loop.

However, the charging voltage can not be increased arbitrarily, because from a certain charging voltage, the lithium ions are compressed in the anode in such a way that they can overcome their mutual coulombsche repulsion and each other can enter into molecular bonds. In the further consequence, metallic lithium precipitates form in the anode. This bound lithium is lost to the charge transport and the electrical work done for it is not released again in the discharge cycle. Subsequently, the anode is virtually poisoned with lithium and the battery loses its functionality very quickly.

The present invention is therefore an object of the invention to provide an accumulator of the type mentioned, in which a particularly high performance is achieved with simple design means.

According to the invention the above object is achieved by an accumulator having the features of claim 1. Thereafter, the accumulator of the type mentioned is configured and further developed such that at least one electrode is associated with an exciter disposed outside the electrode for generating a movement and / or an excited state of at least one component or region of the electrode or the entire electrode. In accordance with the invention, it has been recognized that the above object is achieved in a surprisingly simple manner by generating a movement and / or an excited state of at least one constituent or region of the electrode or the entire electrode. For this purpose, in the concrete at least one electrode is assigned an exciter arranged outside the electrode for generating the movement and / or the excited state. The movement and / or the excited state can prevent the formation of molecular bonds and subsequent precipitations of the ions introduced within the electrode into which ions are conducted during the charging process of the rechargeable battery. The ions supplied during the charging process are not lost. In other words, the invention provides at least one dynamic electrode, which is excited externally.

In the case of the accumulator according to the invention, consequently, the charging voltage can be increased to increase the energy storage, since the hitherto customary accompanying degradation process, which can occur due to molecular bonds and precipitations in the electrode, can be suppressed. In this case, an external phononic or vibronic excitation of a grid of the electrode may occur.

Consequently, an accumulator is specified with the accumulator according to the invention, in which a particularly high performance is achieved with structurally simple means. In particular, in the accumulator according to the invention, the electric energy storage capacity and also the continuous electric power output can be considerably and permanently increased in order to significantly extend the operating life of mobile electronic devices.

With regard to a particularly effective excitation of the electrode could be generated by the exciter a lattice vibration of a grid structure of the electrode. Alternatively or additionally, a grid distortion and / or a grid break of a grid structure of the electrode could be generated by the exciter. Further alternatively or additionally, a grid potential change of a grid structure of the electrode could be generated by the exciter. Such induced influences on the state of the lattice structure can effectively lead to the binding uptake of the charge process introduced into the electrode during the charging process. ions are suppressed with each other or with other electrode constituents, or ions which have already been freed are released again without the electrode being further "poisoned." At the same time, the ions trapped within the electrode grid in, for example, potential wells can be made phononic or vibrational excitation again, since the induced lattice vibrations and lattice distortions or lattice breaks lead to a local potential change, which allows the ions to escape, for example, potential wells.

Therefore, in the accumulator according to the invention much more ions can be reversibly stored in the electrode at elevated charging voltage, when the electrode is brought simultaneously from the outside in phononic and / or vibronic excitation or if induced in a lattice structure of the electrode from the outside a permanent lattice dynamics by the pathogen becomes. This causes a particularly high energy capacity of the accumulator.

To avoid harmful influences on the electrode by the pathogen, which could occur due to a direct contact between the electrode and the pathogen, the exciter could be arranged at a predeterminable distance from the electrode. This could be a so-called safety distance between exciter and electrode, so as not to impair the function of the electrode by the exciter.

Specifically, the pathogen could have a source of radiation for particles. By suitable particle bombardment, the desired movements and / or excitations of the electrode could be generated. As suitable particles which, on the one hand, produce the desired movements and / or excited states and, on the other hand, do not produce any significant damage to the electrode, have in practice been shown to have electrons and / or protons.

Alternatively or additionally, the pathogen could comprise a radiation source for electromagnetic radiation. Such electromagnetic radiation could interact with a grid of the electrode after appropriate coupling in such a way that the desired movements and / or excited states can be generated. As suitable electromagnetic radiation laser radiation, microwave radiation or gamma radiation could be used.

Alternatively or additionally, mechanical vibrations or a mechanical oscillation spectrum could be coupled into the electrode by the exciter. It could be induced in the electrode by the exciter ultrasonic shock waves. In particular, in such a case, the pathogen could have an ultrasound generator, which could be designed as a preferably rod-shaped ultrasound quartz. In the case of a foil battery, a foil cathode electrolyte foil diaphragm electrolyte foil anode package could be wrapped around such an ultrasound transducer, preferably ultrasonic rod quartz.

Alternatively or additionally, the exciter could have an induction loop which acts on the electrode. In this case, the pathogen could have an induction antenna, which is preferably designed as a film induction antenna. Such an induction antenna could be inserted in the layer package of a foil battery described above at a suitable location.

In a further advantageous embodiment, an electrolyte or a membrane assigned to the electrodes could have a particle-emitting or radioactive device or source or substance as a pathogen. Such a substance could be admixed with the electrolyte in view of a particularly compact design of the accumulator.

In a specific embodiment of the accumulator, the electrode could be an anode. In particular, in the case of a rechargeable battery designed as a lithium-ion battery, the invention could avoid or at least reduce molecular binding or precipitation with respect to the lithium ions in the anode.

With regard to the use of radioactive substances, the present invention clearly contrasts with self-activated anodes or against active anodes which have either applied radioactive substances or radioactive substances arranged in the anode. In both latter cases, the radioactive substances or their decay products or chemical compounds between the ions supplied and the radioactive elements or their decay products in the electrode or on the electrode surface lead to a "poisoning" or contamination of the electrode, in particular anode.Therefore, in the present invention, a pathogen or a particle source is arranged outside the electrode.

In an embodiment of the accumulator in which an ultrasonic excitation or electromagnetic excitation of the electrode is carried out, the electrode could be excited in resonance so that the least possible energy is consumed for the excitation.

There are now various possibilities for designing and developing the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous manner. For this purpose, on the one hand to the subordinate claims, on the other hand, to refer to the following explanation of a preferred embodiment of the teaching of the invention with reference to the drawings. In connection with the explanation of the preferred embodiment of the teaching according to the invention with reference to the drawing, generally preferred embodiments and developments of the teaching are explained. In the drawing show

1 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of an accumulator according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a graph comparing conventional lithium-ion batteries in energy density compared with a secondary battery of the invention, and FIG

Fig. 3 is a diagram comparing conventional lithium-ion batteries in terms of power density compared with a battery according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of an accumulator according to the invention with two electrodes 1 and 2, wherein the electrode 1 is formed as a cathode and the electrode 2 as an anode. With regard to a particularly high performance of the accumulator is at least one electrode 2 an exciter 3 arranged outside the electrode 2 for generating a movement and / or an excited state of at least one constituent or region of the electrode 2 or of the entire electrode 2. In the embodiment shown here, the exciter 3 has a radiation source for particles. Specifically, the exciter 3 is disposed in an electrolyte 4 of the accumulator. When using a radioactive substance as pathogen 3, this substance could also be added to the electrolyte 4.

In any case, it must be ensured that the exciter 3 is arranged outside the electrode 2, so that no contact-related impairment of the electrode 2 occurs. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the exciter 3 is arranged at such a distance from the electrode 2 that a suitable generation of the desired movement and / or excitation of the electrode 2 is achieved by the particle bombardment.

2 shows in a diagram the experimentally measured energy density and thus also energy capacity in a comparison between a lithium-ion battery according to the invention with dynamic anode and a conventional lithium-ion battery with conventional anode as a function of the charge-discharge cycle number. This results in an almost twice as high energy density or energy capacity of the battery according to the invention with a dynamic anode. The battery according to the invention or the battery according to the invention can be operated with more than 5 volts charge-discharge voltage, whereas normal conventional lithium-ion batteries can be operated with little more than 4.2 volts.

Fig. 3 is a comparative diagram showing the above-mentioned inventive and conventional batteries in terms of power density depending on the charge-discharge cycle number. The power density of the battery according to the invention or the accumulator according to the invention is increased by about 10% compared to the conventional battery.

With regard to further advantageous embodiments of the teaching of the invention, reference is made to avoid repetition to the general part of the specification and to the appended claims. Finally, it should be expressly understood that the embodiment described above is only for the purpose of discussion of the claimed teaching, but does not limit the embodiment.

Claims

claims

1. A rechargeable battery with two electrodes (1, 2), characterized in that at least one electrode (2) outside the electrode (2) arranged exciter (3) for generating a movement and / or an excited state of at least one component or area of Electrode (2) or the entire electrode (2) is assigned.

2. Accumulator according to claim 1, characterized in that by the exciter (3) a lattice vibration of a lattice structure of the electrode (2) can be generated.

3. Accumulator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that by the exciter (3) a lattice distortion and / or a lattice break a lattice structure of the electrode (2) can be generated.

4. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that by the exciter (3) a grid potential change of a grid structure of the electrode (2) can be generated.

5. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that by the exciter (3) a permanent lattice dynamics in a lattice structure of the electrode (2) can be generated.

6. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the exciter (3) is arranged at a predeterminable distance from the electrode (2).

7. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the exciter (3) comprises a radiation source for particles.

8. Accumulator according to claim 7, characterized in that the particles are electrons and / or protons.

9. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the exciter (3) comprises a radiation source for electromagnetic radiation.

10. Accumulator according to claim 9, characterized in that the electromagnetic radiation is a laser radiation.

11. Accumulator according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the electromagnetic radiation is a microwave radiation.

12. Accumulator according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the electromagnetic radiation is a gamma radiation.

13. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that by the exciter (3) mechanical vibrations or a mechanical vibration spectrum in the electrode (2) can be coupled or is.

14. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that by the exciter (3) ultrasonic shock waves in the electrode (2) are inducible.

15. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the exciter (3) comprises an ultrasound generator.

16. Accumulator according to claim 15, characterized in that the ultrasound generator is an ultrasound quartz.

17. Accumulator according to claim 16, characterized in that the ultrasonic quartz is rod-shaped.

18. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the exciter (3) has an induction loop.

19. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the exciter (3) comprises an induction antenna.

20. Accumulator according to claim 19, characterized in that the induction antenna is a film induction antenna.

21. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the electrodes (1, 2) associated electrolyte (4) or a membrane has a particle-emitting or radioactive device or substance as a pathogen (3).

22. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that the electrode (2) is an anode.

23. Accumulator according to one of claims 1 to 22, characterized in that the accumulator is a lithium-ion battery.