Li—Si—Sn alloy, anode material of the alloy, and batteries including same
An alloy includes lithium, silicon and tin. An anode may be formed of an anode material containing the alloy of lithium, silicon and tin. The anode material may include an electrolyte. The anode material may be a pressed powder pellet that is solid at ambient temperature. A battery, for example, a thermal battery, can contain an electrolyte-separator, a cathode, and/or an anode with the alloy of lithium, tin and silicon. The anode formed of the alloy consisting of lithium, tin and silicon can have a melting point from about 500° C. to about 600° C. or higher making it suitable for use in a thermal battery.
1. An anode material for use in batteries, the anode material comprising:
an alloy including lithium, silicon and tin, and free lithium mixed with the alloy, wherein the alloy comprises:
about 40 wt % of lithium,
about 32.5 wt % of silicon, and
about 27.5 wt % of tin,
wherein a battery results in a peak open circuit voltage of 2.05 Volts and a peak closed circuit voltage of 2.00 Volts upon incorporation of the anode material and wherein the alloy is produced by simultaneous addition of at least two selected from the group consisting of lithium, silicon and tin, to a molten metal to provide a composition, the molten metal being one of molten lithium and molten tin, and
each of the two, which are added simultaneously, being different from the molten metal; and
the alloy being formed by cooling of the composition, subsequent grinding of the composition into a powdered form, and pressing of the powdered form together to form a pellet, and the anode of the battery includes the pellet.
2. The anode material according to claim 1 , further comprising:
free lithium forming a composite with the alloy of lithium, silicon and tin.
3. The anode material according to claim 1 , further comprising an electrolyte mixed with the alloy.
4. The anode material according to claim 3 , wherein the anode material includes:
about 20 wt % of the electrolyte, and
about 80 wt % of the alloy.
5. The anode material according to claim 1 , wherein the alloy is in the form of a powder.
6. An anode comprising a pressed pellet that includes the alloy powder of claim 5 mixed with an electrolyte.
7. The anode according to claim 6 , wherein the anode includes:
about 20 wt % of the electrolyte; and
about 80 wt % of the alloy powder.
8. A battery comprising:
an electrolyte-separator material;
a cathode material that provides a cathode of the battery; and
an anode material that provides an anode of the battery,
the electrolyte-separator material being located between the cathode material and the anode material, and
the anode material including an alloy comprised of lithium, silicon and tin, and free lithium, wherein the alloy comprises:
about 40 wt % of lithium,
about 32.5 wt % of silicon, and
about 27.5 wt % of tin,
wherein the battery results in a peak open circuit voltage of 2.05 Volts and a peak closed circuit voltage of 2.00 Volts upon incorporation of the anode material and wherein the alloy is produced by simultaneous addition of at least two selected from the group consisting of lithium, silicon and tin, to a molten metal to provide a composition, the molten metal being one of molten lithium and molten tin, and
each of the two, which are added simultaneously, being different from the molten metal; and
the alloy being formed by cooling of the composition, subsequent grinding of the composition into a powdered form, and pressing of the powdered form together to form a pellet, and the anode of the battery includes the pellet.
9. The battery according to claim 8 , further comprising a pyrotechnic heat source.
10. The battery according to claim 8 , wherein the anode material includes an electrolyte mixed with the alloy.
11. The battery according to claim 10 , wherein the anode material includes:
about 20 wt % of the electrolyte; and
about 80 wt % of the alloy.
12. The battery according to claim 8 , wherein the alloy is in the form of a powder.
13. The battery according to claim 8 , wherein the battery is a thermal battery in which the electrolyte-separator material, the cathode material and the anode material are solid at ambient temperature.
14. A battery comprising:
an electrolyte-separator material;
a cathode material that provides a cathode of the battery; and
an anode material that provides an anode of the battery,
the electrolyte-separator material being located between the cathode material and the anode material, and
the anode material including an alloy comprised of lithium, silicon and tin, and free lithium, wherein the alloy comprises:
about 40 wt % of lithium,
about 25 wt % of silicon, and
about 35 wt % of tin,
wherein the battery results in a peak open circuit voltage of 2.1 Volts and a peak closed circuit voltage of 2.02 Volts upon incorporation of the anode material and wherein the alloy is produced by simultaneous addition of at least two selected from the group consisting of lithium, silicon and tin, to a molten metal to provide a composition, the molten metal being one of molten lithium and molten tin, each of the two being added simultaneously being different from the molten metal; and
the alloy being formed by cooling of the composition, subsequent grinding of the composition into a powdered form, and pressing of the powdered form together to form a pellet, and the anode of the battery includes the pellet.