Lithium secondary battery
Provided is a lithium secondary battery including a cathode containing a cathode active material in which a central part has a different concentration from a surface part, and a conductive material having a specific composition ratio, and specifically, a lithium secondary battery including a cathode containing a cathode active material in which a central part of one or more kinds of metals configuring the cathode active material has a different concentration from a surface part thereof, and two or more kinds of conductive materials mixed at a specific ratio, thereby having excellent stability and high low-temperature characteristic and high output characteristic as compared to a conventional lithium secondary battery.
1. A lithium secondary battery comprising:
a cathode, an anode, an electrolyte, and a separator,
wherein the cathode includes a cathode active material comprising a central part represented by Chemical Formula 1 below and a surface part represented by Chemical Formula 2 below in the order from an inside to an outside, and a conductive material comprising a carbon large surface area structure and a carbon small surface area structure,
wherein the central part has a constant concentration region in which each of M1 concentration and M3 concentration is constant in a direction from the center of the cathode active material to the surface part, and the constant concentration region has a radius of equal to or greater than 0.6 μm from the center of the cathode active material, and
wherein the cathode active material comprises a concentration gradient region in which M1 concentration continuously decreases and M3 concentration continuously increases in a direction from the end of the constant concentration region to the surface part, the concentration gradient region is positioned between the constant concentration region and the surface part, and the radius of the constant concentration region is greater than a sum of a width of the concentration gradient region and a width of the surface part:
LiM1 X1 M2 Y1 M3 Z1 O w [Chemical Formula 1]
LiM1 X2 M2 Y2 M3 Z2 O w [Chemical Formula 2]
wherein in Chemical Formulas 1 and 2, M1, M2, and M3 are selected from the group consisting of Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Na, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ge, Sr, Ag, Ba, Zr, Nb, Mo, Al, Ga, B, and a combination thereof, 0.75≤X1≤0.9, 0.75≤X2≤0.9, 0≤Y1≤0.2, 0≤Y2≤0.2, 0.01≤Z1≤0.2, 0.01≤Z2≤0.2, 0≤W≤3, 0<X1+Y1+Z1≤1, 0<X2+Y2+Z2≤1, X2<X1, Y1=Y2, and Z1<Z2.
2. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the carbon large surface area structure and the carbon small surface area structure are mixed at the weight ratio of 10:90 to 70:30 in the conductive material.
3. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the carbon large surface area structure and the carbon small surface area structure are mixed at the weight ratio of less than 10: more than 90 in the conductive material.
4. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the carbon large surface area structure and the carbon small surface area structure are mixed at the weight ratio of more than 70: less than 30 in the conductive material.
5. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the conductive material further comprises any one or two or more selected from a conductive fiber, a fluorinated carbon, a metal powder, a conductive whisker, a conductive oxide and a conductive polymer.
6. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the carbon large surface area structure comprises any one or two or more selected from graphene, single-walled carbon nanotube and multi-walled carbon nanotube, and the carbon small surface area structure comprises any one or two or more selected from fullerene, graphite, black lead, carbon black, acetylene black, thermal black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black.
7. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the cathode active material satisfies Equations 1 and 2 below:
0.01
≤
X
1
-
X
2
≤
0.05
[
Equation
1
]
0.01
≤
Z
1
-
Z
2
≤
0.05
.
[
Equation
2
]
8. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the surface part has a width of equal to or greater than 0.4 μm from the outermost surface of the cathode active material.