Lithium electrode and lithium secondary battery comprising the same

1. A lithium electrode, comprising:

a porous metallic current collector; and

lithium metal inserted into pores present in the metallic current collector,

wherein the lithium metal is inserted in an amount of 1 to 50 wt % based on the total weight of the lithium electrode.

2. The lithium electrode of claim 1 , wherein the metallic current collector is made of any one selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, chromium, zinc, stainless steel and a mixture thereof.

3. The lithium electrode of claim 1 , wherein the metallic current collector has a porosity of 50 to 99%.

4. The lithium electrode of claim 1 , wherein the pores have a size of 5 to 500 μm.

5. The lithium electrode of claim 1 , wherein the metallic current collector is in the form of metal mesh or metal foam.

6. A lithium secondary battery, comprising:

an electrode assembly comprising a cathode, an anode, and a separator interposed therebetween;

a battery case for receiving the electrode assembly; and

a non-aqueous electrolyte solution being introduced in the battery case to be impregnated into the electrode assembly,

wherein the anode is the lithium electrode of claim 1 .

7. The lithium secondary battery of claim 6 , wherein the cathode comprises a cathode active material selected from the group consisting of LiCoO 2 , LiNiO 2 , LiMn 2 O 4 , LiCoPO 4 , LiFePO 4 , LiNiMnCoO 2 , LiNi 1-y-z Co x M1 y M2 z O 2 (wherein M1 and M2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of Al, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, V, Cr, Ti, W, Ta, Mg and Mo, and x, y and z are each independently an atomic fraction of oxide-forming elements, in which 0≦x<0.5, 0≦y<0.5, 0≦z<0.5, and x+y+z≦1), and a mixture thereof.

8. The lithium secondary battery of claim 6 , wherein the separator is a porous substrate made of any one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, polypentene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyester, polyacetal, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyethylene naphthalate and a mixture thereof.

9. The lithium secondary battery of claim 6 , wherein the non-aqueous electrolyte solution comprises an organic solvent and an electrolyte salt.

10. The lithium secondary battery of claim 9 , wherein the organic solvent is any one selected from the group consisting of ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), 1,2-butylene carbonate, 2,3-butylene carbonate, 1,2-pentylene carbonate, 2,3-pentylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate, vinyl ethylene carbonate, fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), dipropyl carbonate, ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), ethyl propyl carbonate, ethyl propyl carbonate, dimethyl ether, diethyl ether, dipropyl ether, methyl ethyl ether, methyl propyl ether, ethyl propyl ether, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, methyl propionate, ethyl propionate, propyl propionate, γ-butyrolactone, γ-valerolactone, γ-caprolactone, σ-valerolactone, ε-caprolactone and a mixture thereof.

11. The lithium secondary battery of claim 9 , wherein the electrolyte salt comprises an anion selected from the group consisting of F − , Cl − , Br − , I − ,NO 3 − , N(CN) 2 − , BF 4 − , ClO 4 − , PF 6 − , (CF 3 ) 2 PF 4 − , (CF 3 ) 3 PF 3 − , (CF 3 ) 4 PF 2 − , (CF 3 ) 5 PF − , (CF 3 ) 6 P − , CF 3 SO 3 − , CF 3 CF 2 SO 3 − , (CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 N − , (FSO 2 ) 2 N − , CF 3 CF 2 (CF 3 ) 2 CO − , (CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 CH − , (SF 5 ) 3 C − , (CF 3 SO 2 ) 3 C − , CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 SO 3 − , CF 3 CO 2 − , CH 3 CO 2 − , SCN − and (CF 3 CF 2 SO 2 ) 2 N − .

12. The lithium secondary battery of claim 6 , wherein the battery case is cylindrical, prismatic, pouch, or coin forms.