High energy materials for a battery and methods for making and use
A method of forming an electrode active material by reacting a metal fluoride and a reactant. The reactant can be a metal oxide, metal phosphate, metal fluoride, or a precursors expected to decompose to oxides. The method includes a milling step and an annealing step. The method can alternately include a solution coating step. Also included is the composition formed following the method.
1. A composition comprising:
a particle comprising CuF 2 ; and
a surface coating on the particle, wherein the coating comprises a hybrid material formed by reacting via heat treatment the CuF 2 and a metal complex, the metal complex including Ni; and
wherein the hybrid material comprises Cu and Ni and wherein the composition has rechargeable capacity.
2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the reacting further comprises milling the metal fluoride material with the metal complex.
3. The composition of claim 1 comprising a particle with a grain size greater than 100 nm.
4. The composition of claim 1 comprising a particle with a grain size greater than 130 nm.
5. The composition of claim 1 wherein the particle has a first phase and the coating has a second phase.
6. The composition of claim 5 wherein the first phase comprises CuF 2 .
7. The composition of claim 5 wherein the second phase comprises a material formed from the decomposition of the metal complex.
8. The composition of claim 1 wherein the metal complex comprises NiO.
9. The composition of claim 1 wherein the coating is covalently bonded to the particle.
10. The composition of claim 1 wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature less than 450 degrees C.
11. The composition of claim 1 wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature less than 325 degrees C.
12. A composition comprising:
a particle comprising CuF 2 ; and
a surface coating on the particle, wherein the coating comprises a material represented by a formula (1):
Cu a Ni b O c F d (1)
where 0<a≦1, 0<b≦1, 0 ≦c≦1, and 0≦d≦1:
wherein the composition has rechargeable capacity.