Negative electrode active material and lithium secondary battery including the same

1. A silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material comprising:

a carbon-based core capable of intercalating and deintercalating lithium ions; and

at least one silicon particle included in the carbon-based core and disposed in a form of being distributed in an outer portion of the carbon-based core,

wherein the carbon-based core comprises a carbon material selected from the group consisting of natural graphite, artificial graphite, graphite, graphitizable carbon, non-graphitizable carbon, carbon black, and graphite oxide, or a mixture of two or more thereof, and

wherein the outer portion of the carbon-based core is a portion having a length of 10% to 50% of a total length from the center of the carbon-based core to a surface of the carbon-based core in a depth direction from the surface,

wherein the outer portion comprises at least some of the carbon material and the silicon particle(s),

wherein the carbon-based core has a concentration gradient in which porosity is gradually increased from a center at the core to the outer portion of the core.

2. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein an average particle diameter of the carbon-based core is in a range of 5 μm to 30 μm.

3. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein a pore ratio of the center of the carbon-based core:the outer portion of the carbon-based core is in a range of 10 vol %:20 vol % to 10 vol %:50 vol %.

4. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein the at least one silicon particle disposed in the form of being distributed in the outer portion of the carbon-based core comprises a single material selected from the group consisting of a crystalline or amorphous silicon (Si) single phase, SiO x (0<x≤2), and a Si—Z alloy (where Z comprises alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, a Group 13 element, a Group 14 element, transition metal, a rare earth element, or a combination thereof, and is not Si), or a mixture of two or more thereof.

5. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein the at least one silicon particle disposed in the form of being distributed in the outer portion of the carbon-based core has a diameter of 20 nm to 100 nm.

6. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein the at least one silicon particle disposed in the form of being distributed in the outer portion of the carbon-based core is included in an amount of 5 wt % to 50 wt % based on a total amount of the negative electrode active material.

7. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein the negative electrode active material further comprises at least one coating layer selected from the group consisting of a silicon-based coating layer and a carbon coating layer.

8. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 7 , wherein the silicon-based coating layer is formed of a single material selected from the group consisting of a crystalline or amorphous silicon (Si) single phase, SiO x (0<x≤2), and a Si—Z alloy (where Z comprises alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, a Group 13 element, a Group 14 element, transition metal, a rare earth element, or a combination thereof, and is not Si), or a mixture of two or more thereof.

9. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 7 , wherein the silicon-based coating layer is included in an amount of 0.01 wt % to 50 wt % based on a total weight of the negative electrode active material.

10. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 7 , wherein the carbon coating layer is formed of amorphous carbon or a conductive polymer.

11. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 7 , wherein the carbon coating layer is included in an amount of 0.01 wt % to 50 wt % based on a total weight of the negative electrode active material.

12. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein the negative electrode active material has an average particle diameter (D50) of 6 μm to 55 μm.

13. The silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 , wherein the negative electrode active material has a specific surface area (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)) of 0.5 m 2 /g to 20 m 2 /g.

14. A negative electrode comprising:

a current collector; and

an electrode material mixture layer including the silicon-carbon-based composite negative electrode active material of claim 1 which is formed on at least one surface of the current collector.

15. The negative electrode of claim 14 , wherein the electrode material mixture layer further comprises at least one additive selected from the group consisting of a conductive agent, a binder, and a filler.

16. A lithium secondary battery comprising:

a positive electrode;

a negative electrode;

a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and

a non-aqueous electrolyte solution,

wherein the negative electrode comprises the negative electrode of claim 14 .