Negative electrode for lithium ion secondary battery, method for producing the same, and lithium ion secondary battery

1. A negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery, comprising a current collector, an intermediate layer formed on a surface of said current collector, and an active material layer formed on said intermediate layer,

wherein said current collector comprises a metal capable of being alloyed with silicon,

said active material layer comprises an active material comprising silicon,

said intermediate layer comprises silicon and oxygen,

said intermediate layer prevents said metal capable of being alloyed with silicon from diffusing into said active material layer, and

said active material forms a plurality of columnar particles.

2. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said intermediate layer comprises SiO x where 0.1≦x<2.

3. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said active material layer further includes oxygen, nitrogen, or titanium.

4. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said metal capable of being alloyed with silicon is copper or nickel.

5. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said metal capable of being alloyed with silicon diffuses into said intermediate layer to form a mixed layer, and said mixed layer has a thickness of 1 μm or less.

6. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said columnar particles are inclined relative to the direction of the normal to the surface of said current collector.

7. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said columnar particles include a plurality of subparticles, and said subparticles are laminated and grown slantwise relative to the direction of the normal to the surface of said current collector.

8. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 7 , wherein said subparticles are grown in different directions.

9. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said active material layer has a thickness of 0.1 μm to 100 μm.

10. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said current collector has a thickness of 1 μm to 50 μm.

11. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the surface of said current collector carrying said intermediate layer has a surface roughness Rz of 0.1 μm to 100 μm.

12. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the surface of said current collector carrying said intermediate layer has asperities of a regular pattern.

13. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 5 , wherein said mixed layer contains copper and at least one element X selected from the group consisting of chromium, carbon, and hydrogen, and the content of said element X is 10 mol % or less of the copper contained in said mixed layer.

14. The negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery in accordance with claim 1 , wherein lithium has been provided on said active material layer by vapor deposition, thereby causing a reaction between said lithium and said active material.

15. A lithium ion secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, the negative electrode as recited in claim 1 , a separator interposed between said positive electrode and said negative electrode, and an electrolyte.