IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,603,276
Granted Patent B2
US 12,603,276 · App. 17/056,339 · Granted Apr 14, 2026

Active material, and positive electrode mixture and solid-state battery that use said active material

Inventors: Daisuke Washida (Ageo, JP); Hitohiko Ide (Ageo, JP); Tetsuya Mitsumoto (Takehara, JP); Jun Omura (Ageo, JP); Yasuo Komoda (Ageo, JP); Yasuhiro Shibata (Ageo, JP); Yasunori Tabira (Ageo, JP); Tomoyuki Maeda (Ageo, JP)
Assignee: MITSUI KINZOKU COMPANY, LIMITED
H01M4/366H01M4/505H01M4/525H01M4/62H01M10/0562H01M10/0585H01M2004/028H01M2300/0068
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,603,276
App. No.
17/056,339
Granted
Apr 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed is an active material that can reduce an interface resistance with a sulfide solid electrolyte and improve the battery performance. The active material exhibits at least one peak in the range of from 0.145 nm to 0.185 nm and at least one peak in the range of from 0.28 nm to 0.31 nm in a radial distribution function obtained through measurement of an X-ray absorption fine structure of the active material. The active material is for use in a solid-state battery. The active material preferably has a core particle, and a coating layer located on the surface of the core particle.

Claims (19)

1 . An active material for use in a solid-state battery, exhibiting at least one peak in a range of from 0.145 nm to 0.185 nm and at least one peak in a range of from 0.28 nm to 0.31 nm in a radial distribution function obtained through measurement of an X-ray absorption fine structure of the active material,

wherein the active material comprises a core particle and a coating layer located on a surface of the core particle,

the core particle comprises a lithium-metal complex oxide,

the lithium-metal complex oxide comprises a layered rock salt-type compound or a spinel-type compound,

the coating layer comprises an oxide containing Li and Nb,

the active material has a BET specific surface area A of 0.5 m 2 /g or more and 5.0 m 2 /g or less,

a ratio B/A is from 308 to 778 when the lithium-metal complex oxide is a layered rock salt-type compound, and from 223 to 1257 when the lithium-metal complex oxide is a spinel-type compound, wherein A represents the BET specific surface area and B represents a moisture content (mass ppm) as measured up to 110° C. by the Karl-Fischer method,

a proportion of the oxide contained in the active material, in terms of a ratio of a mass of niobium to a mass of the active material is at least 0.01% by mass and at most 3% by mass, and

an amount of carbonic acid ions on a surface of the active material is less than 2.0% by mass, based on the active material.

2 . A positive electrode material mixture comprising the active material according to claim 1 , and a sulfide solid electrolyte.

3 . The positive electrode material mixture according to claim 2 , wherein the sulfide solid electrolyte contains elements Li and S, and has lithium ion conductivity.

4 . The positive electrode material mixture according to claim 3 , wherein the sulfide solid electrolyte has a crystal phase of an argyrodite structure.

5 . A solid-state battery comprising a positive electrode layer, a negative electrode layer, and a solid electrolyte layer, the positive electrode layer containing the positive electrode material mixture according to claim 4 .

6 . A solid-state battery comprising a positive electrode layer, a negative electrode layer, and a solid electrolyte layer, the positive electrode layer containing the positive electrode material mixture according to claim 3 .

7 . A solid-state battery comprising a positive electrode layer, a negative electrode layer, and a solid electrolyte layer, the positive electrode layer containing the positive electrode material mixture according to claim 2 .

8 . A positive electrode material mixture comprising the active material according to claim 1 , and a sulfide solid electrolyte.

9 . The positive electrode material mixture according to claim 8 , wherein the sulfide solid electrolyte contains elements Li and S, and has lithium ion conductivity.

10 . A solid-state battery comprising a positive electrode layer, a negative electrode layer, and a solid electrolyte layer, the positive electrode layer containing the positive electrode material mixture according to claim 8 .

11 . The active material according to claim 1 , wherein the active material has a volume cumulative particle size D 50 , which is a particle size at a cumulative volume 50% in the laser diffraction scattering particle size distribution analysis, of greater than 1 μm and at most 20 μm.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 13, 2025
From: MITSUI MINING & SMELTING CO., LTD.
To: MITSUI KINZOKU COMPANY, LIMITED
Reel/Frame 073550/0283 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 17, 2020
From: WASHIDA, DAISUKE; IDE, HITOHIKO; MITSUMOTO, TETSUYA; OMURA, JUN; KOMODA, YASUO; SHIBATA, YASUHIRO; TABIRA, YASUNORI; MAEDA, TOMOYUKI
To: MITSUI MINING & SMELTING CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 054394/0524 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2018-182980 · Sep 27, 2018 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210234158A1 · Jul 29, 2021
References Cited (35)
US 20070202405A1 · Shizuka · 2007 [cited by examiner]
US 20070231694A1 · Abe · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20110059363A1 · Imanari et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20130209890A1 · Nagatomi · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140339465A1 · Okamoto · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20160043391A1 · Nagatomi · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160211519A1 · Uchiyama · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160315324A1 · Miki · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20180212233A1 · Ito · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180219229A1 · Miki · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20210135199A1 · Washida et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
CN 101790496 · 2010 [cited by applicant]
CN 103124695A · 2013 [cited by applicant]
EP 2174915 · 2010 [cited by applicant]
JP H11297323 · 1999 [cited by applicant]
JP 2006261072 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
JP 2007330877 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
JP 2009032655 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
JP 2015153628 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
JP WO2014007357A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
JP 2016207567A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
KR 20070098562A · 2007 [cited by applicant]
KR 1020100037599 · 2010 [cited by applicant]
KR 20180087102A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
TW 200920699 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO 2009005164 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018164224 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2019035418A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
Wang et al. “High-Conductivity Argyrodite Li6PS5Cl Solid Electrolytes Prepared via Optimized Sintering Processes for All-Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.” ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 10, 42279-42285 (Year: 20… [cited by examiner]
Ohta et al. “LiNbO3-coated LiCoO2 as cathode material for all solid-state lithium secondary batteries.” Electrochemistry Communications 9 (2007) 1486-1490 (Year: 2007). [cited by examiner]
Li et al. “LiNbO3-coated LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.102 cathode with high discharge capacity and rate performance for all-solid-state lithium battery.” Journal of Energy Chemistry 40 (2020) 39-45 (Year: 2019). [cited by examiner]
International Search Report for PCT/JP2019/038154 dated Dec. 3, 2019, 5 pages. [cited by applicant]
Written Opinion of the ISA for PCT/JP2019/038154 dated Dec. 3, 2019, 5 pages. [cited by applicant]
Tsai et al., “Defect structure of highly Zn-doped LiNbO3 single crystal revealed by extended X-ray absorption spectra”, Applied Physics Letters, Applied Physics Letters, 2008, vol. 92, No. 16, Article No. 161902 (4 tota… [cited by applicant]
Office Action, issued in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-7031998 dated Oct. 18, 2024. [cited by applicant]