Granted Patent B2

US 7,588,623 · App. 11/480,606 · Granted Sep 15, 2009

Abstract

Claims (8)

1. A method of stabilizing lithium metal powder comprising the steps of:

a) heating lithium metal to a temperature above its melting point;

b) spraying the molten lithium metal through an atomizer nozzle to provide droplets; and

c) fluorinating the droplets during flight to provide a stabilized lithium metal powder.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (a) is done in a hydrocarbon oil.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the stabilized lithium metal powder is subjected to treatment to remove residual hydrocarbon oil.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lithium metal powder has a median particle size of 10 to 500 microns.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the molten lithium metal is cooled to a temperature of 24° C. to 200° C.

Assignments (10)