Separator for electrochemical cell and method for its manufacture

1. An electrode/separator assembly for use in a lithium transition metal phosphate electrochemical cell, comprising:

a current collector;

a porous composite electrode layer adhered to the current collector, said electrode layer comprising electroactive lithium transition metal phosphate particles and a binder; and

a porous composite separator layer comprising inorganic particles substantially uniformly distributed in a polymer matrix to form nanopores and having a pore volume fraction of at least 25%, wherein the separator layer is secured to the electrode layer by a solvent weld that comprises a co-mingled mixture of the binder and the polymer at the interface between the two layers, wherein the solvent weld is formed by solubilization of the binder with a solvent and the binder has a lesser solubility in the solvent as compared to the solubility of the polymer in the solvent; and wherein the solvent does not penetrate more than 50% of the thickness of the electrode layer.

2. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the separator layer has a total thickness in the range of about 2 μm to about 40 μm.

3. The electrode/separator assembly of claim 1 , wherein an electrode layer is disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the current collector and a separator electrode is disposed on both electrode layers.

4. The electrode/separator assembly of claim 3 , wherein each separator layer has a thickness in the range of about 10 μm to about 20 μm.

5. The electrode/separator assembly of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic particles of the separator layer are substantially monodisperse and have a particle size has a value in the range of about 10-500 nm.

6. The electrode/separator assembly of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic particles of the separator layer are substantially monodisperse and have a particle size has a value in the range of about 10-50 nm.

7. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the separator has a monomodal pore size distribution and the pore size has a value in the range of 5-500 nm.

8. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the separator layer has at least a bimodal pore distribution.

9. The electrode/separator of claim 8 , wherein a first, smaller pore size is in the range of about 5-100 nm.

10. The electrode/separator of claim 8 , wherein a first, smaller pore size is in the range of about 10-500 nm.

11. The electrode/separator of claim 8 , wherein a second, larger pore size is in the range of about 100-500 nm.

12. The electrode/separator of claim 8 , wherein a second, larger pore size is in the range of about 100-200 nm.

13. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the separator layer comprises inorganic particles and polymer in a weight ratio of about 95:5 to about 35:65.

14. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the separator layer comprises inorganic particles and polymer in a weight ratio of about 65:35 to about 45:55.

15. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the polymer comprises a polymer which is electrochemically compatible with Li-ion cells.

16. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the polymer comprises a polyvinylidene fluoride-based polymer.

17. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein said inorganic material is selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, natural and synthetic zeolites and other electrochemically stable inorganic particles of the appropriate particle size.

18. The electrode/separator of claim 17 , wherein said silica comprises fumed silica.

19. A method of preparing an electrode/separator assembly for the lithium transition metal phosphate electrochemical cell of claim 1 , said method comprising:

providing a porous composite electrode layer comprising at least electroactive lithium transition metal phosphate particles and a binder;

providing a coating solution, said coating solution comprising a polymer, solvent system for said polymer, and inorganic particles dispersed in said solvent, wherein said solvent system is selected to have lesser solubility for the binder of the electrode layer compared to the solubility for the polymer;

coating a surface of said electrode layer with a layer of said coating solution using a spraying or gravure coating process, wherein the coating solution penetrates up to 50% of the thickness of the electrode layer and dissolves a portion of the binder; and

removing the solvent from said coating solution layer to deposit a porous separator layer comprising inorganic particles substantially uniformly distributed in the polymer and having a pore volume fraction of at least 25% and to form a solvent weld that comprises a co-mingled mixture of the binder and the polymer at an interface between said porous electrode layer and said porous separator layer.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising curing said polymer.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein said curing comprises heat treating the assembly.

22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the weight ratio of inorganic particles and polymer in the coating solution is about 95:5 to about 35:65.

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein the weight ratio of inorganic particles and polymer in the coating solution is about 65:35 to about 45:55.

24. The method of claim 19 , wherein the solvent system is a mixture of solvents and the solvents include a first liquid that is a solvent for the binder and a second liquid that is a poorer solvent for the binder than the first liquid and the proportion of first and second liquids is selected to limit the dissolution of the binder during the coating step.

25. The method of claim 20 , wherein the solvent system is a mixture of solvents and the solvents include a first liquid that is a solvent for the binder and a second liquid that increases the viscosity of the coating solution and the proportion of first and second liquids is selected to reduce the penetration of the coating solution into the thickness of the electrode layer.

26. The method of claim 19 , wherein said solvent system comprises N-methyl pyrrolidone.

27. The method of claim 19 , wherein said solvent system comprises a mixture of N-methyl pyrrolidone and a diluting solvent selected from the group consisting of acetone, propyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone and ethyl acetate.

28. The method of claim 19 , wherein the coating solution penetrates up to 90% of the thickness of the electrode layer.

29. The method of claim 19 , wherein the coating solution penetrates up to 50% of the thickness of the electrode layer.

30. The method of claim 19 , wherein the coating solution penetrates up to 25% of the thickness of the electrode layer.

31. The method of claim 19 , wherein the coating solution penetrates up to 10% of the thickness of the electrode layer.

32. The method of claim 19 , wherein spray coating the surface of said electrode comprises spray coating a plurality of layers of said coating solution onto said surface of said electrode.

33. The method of claims 32 , further comprising drying the coated layer between each spray coating step.

34. The method of claim 19 , wherein removing said solvent comprises evaporating said solvent.

35. The method of claim 19 , wherein removing said solvent comprises extracting said solvent with a material which is a non-solvent for said polymer.

36. A battery which includes the electrode of claim 1 .

37. The battery of claim 36 , wherein said battery is a lithium metal phosphate battery.

38. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the separator layer is secured to the electrode layer by a spraying or gravure coating process using a coating solution that penetrates less than 50% of the thickness of the electrode layer and dissolves only a portion of the binder to form a solvent weld at the interface between the two layers upon removal of the solvent.

39. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the solvent does not penetrate more than 25% of the thickness of the electrode layer.

40. The electrode/separator of claim 1 , wherein the solvent does not penetrate more than 10% of the thickness of the electrode layer.