Encapsulated cathode active material particles, lithium secondary batteries containing same, and method of manufacturing

1. A method of manufacturing a lithium battery, said method comprising:

(a) providing a cathode active material layer and a cathode current collector to support said cathode active material layer;

(b) providing an anode active material layer and an anode current collector to support said anode active material layer; and

(c) providing an electrolyte in contact with the anode active material layer and the cathode active material layer and a separator electrically separating an anode and a cathode;

wherein the operation of providing the cathode active material layer includes providing multiple particulates of a cathode active material,

wherein at least one of said particulates is composed of one or a plurality of cathode active material particles being fully embraced or encapsulated by a layer of an elastic polymer having a recoverable tensile elastic strain from 2% to 200%, a lithium ion conductivity no less than 10 −6 S/cm at room temperature, and a thickness from 0.5 nm to 10 μm, and

wherein said elastic polymer contains an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer having a molecular weight from 0.5×10 6 to 9×10 6 grams/mole dispersed in a solvent is selected from 1,3-dioxolane (DOL), 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME), tetraethylene glycol dimethylether (TEGDME), poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME), diethylene glycol dibutyl ether (DEGDBE), 2-ethoxyethyl ether (EEE), sulfone, sulfolane, ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), methylethyl carbonate (MEC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), ethyl propionate, methyl propionate, γ-butyrolactone (γ-BL), acetonitrile (AN), ethyl acetate (EA), propyl formate (PF), methyl formate (MF), toluene, xylene, methyl acetate (MA), fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), vinylene carbonate (VC), allyl ethyl carbonate (AEC), a hydrofluoroether, an ionic liquid solvent, and combinations thereof;

(d) wherein the polymer contains an electrically conductive material dispersed therein and is selected from electro-conductive polymer, a metal particle or wire, a graphene sheet, a carbon fiber, a carbon nanotube, a graphite particle, or expanded graphite flake, an acetylene black particle, or a combination thereof.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the thickness of said elastic polymer ranges from 1 nm to 100 nm.

3. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the lithium ion conductivity of said elastic polymer ranges from 1×10 −5 S/cm to 2×10 −2 S/cm.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said elastic polymer has the recoverable tensile strain from 5% to 100%.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing multiple particulates includes encapsulating or embracing said one or a plurality of cathode active material particles with said layer of elastic polymer using a procedure selected from pan coating, air suspension, centrifugal extrusion, vibrational nozzle, spray-drying, ultrasonic spraying, coacervation-phase separation, interfacial polycondensation, in-situ polymerization, matrix polymerization, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said cathode active material is selected from an inorganic material, organic material, polymeric material, or a combination thereof and wherein said inorganic material does not include sulfur or alkali metal polysulfide.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said one or a plurality of cathode active material particles is coated with a layer of carbon or graphene.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said one or a plurality of cathode active material particles is mixed with a carbon, graphene, or graphite material to form a mixture and said mixture is embraced by one or a plurality of graphene sheets.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said one or plurality of cathode active material particles are mixed with a carbon material, a graphite material, and/or graphene sheets to form a mixture that is embraced by external graphene sheets to form graphene-embraced cathode active material particulates, which are then encapsulated by elastic polymer.

10. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein said ultrahigh molecular weight polymer is selected from polyacrylonitrile, polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylamide, poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(methyl ether acrylate), a copolymer thereof, a sulfonated derivative thereof, a chemical derivative thereof, or a combination thereof, wherein the recoverable tensile strain of said elastic polymer ranges from 5% to 100%.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said ultrahigh molecular weight polymer forms a mixture with an elastomer, an electronically conductive polymer, a lithium-ion conducting material, a reinforcement material, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said lithium ion-conducting material is dispersed in said elastic polymer and is selected from Li 2 CO 3 , Li 2 O, Li 2 C 2 O 4 , LiOH, LiX, ROCO 2 Li, HCOLi, ROLi, (ROCO 2 Li) 2 , (CH 2 OCO 2 Li) 2 , Li 2 S, Li x SO y , or a combination thereof, wherein X=F, Cl, I, or Br, R=a hydrocarbon group, 0<x≤1, 1≤y≤4.

13. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein said lithium ion conducting material is dispersed in said elastic polymer and is selected from lithium perchlorate (LiClO 4 ), lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6 ), lithium borofluoride (LiBF 4 ), lithium hexafluoroarsenide (LiAsF 6 ), lithium trifluoro-methanesulfonate (LiCF 3 SO 3 ), bis-trifluoromethyl sulfonylimide lithium (LiN(CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 ), lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB), lithium oxalyldifluoroborate (LiBF 2 C 2 O 4 ), lithium nitrate (LiNO 3 ), lithium bisperfluoro-ethylsulfonylimide (LiBETI), lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, lithium trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI), an ionic liquid-based lithium salt, or a combination thereof.