Nonaqueous electrolyte battery having a negative electrode active material with a lithium insertion potential of at least 0.2V (vs.Li/Li+) or formed of a lithium titanium oxide or a titanium-containing composite oxide

1. A nonaqueous electrolyte battery comprising a positive electrode containing an active material, a negative electrode, a separator provided between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein:

the negative electrode includes a current collector and a negative electrode porous layer supported by the current collector, the negative electrode porous layer containing a negative electrode active material, a conductive agent and a binder; and

the negative electrode active material is a metal oxide, a metal sulfide, a metal nitride or an alloy having a Li insertion potential of not lower than 0.2V (vs. Li/Li + ), the negative electrode active material has an average primary particle diameter not larger than 1 μm, and the negative electrode porous layer faces the separator and has a specific surface area, excluding a weight of the current collector and as determined by the BET method utilizing a N 2 adsorption, which falls within a range of 3 to 50 m 2 /g.

2. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein a porosity of the negative electrode excluding the current collector falls within a range of 20 to 50%.

3. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the Li insertion potential of the negative electrode active material is 0.2 to 3V (vs. Li/Li + ).

4. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the average primary particle diameter of the negative electrode active material is 0.001 to 1 μm.

5. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the specific surface area of the negative electrode layer falls within a range of 5 to 50 m 2 /g.

6. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide includes a lithium titanium oxide and/or a titanium-containing composite oxide.

7. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 6 , wherein the lithium titanium oxide is represented by Li 4+x Ti 5 O 12 (−1≦x≦3) or Li 2+x Ti 3 O 7 (−1≦x≦3).

8. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 6 , wherein the titanium-containing composite oxide contains at least one kind of element selected from the group consisting of P, V, Sn, Cu, Ni and Fe.

9. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the active material of the positive electrode includes at least one kind of the compound selected from the group consisting of a lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese composite oxide, a Spinel-type lithium-manganese-nickel composite oxide, a lithium-phosphorus oxide having an olivine structure, a lithium-cobalt oxide, a lithium-nickel-cobalt composite oxide, and a lithium-manganese composite oxide.

10. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 9 , wherein the lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese composite oxide is represented by Li a Ni b CO c Mn d O 2 and the molar ratios of a, b, c, and d fall within the ranges of 0≦a≦1.1, 0.1≦b≦0.5, 0≦c≦0.9, and 0.1≦d≦0.5.

11. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains an ionic liquid.

12. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains a molten salt, the molten salt containing lithium ion, organic cation having a skeletal structure given below and anion:

13. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 12 , wherein the organic cation includes alkyl imidazolium ion and/or tetraalkyl ammonium ion, and the anion includes at least one ion selected from the group consisting of BF 4 − , PF 6 − , AsF 6 − , ClO 4 − , CF 3 SO 3 − , CF 3 COO − , CH 3 COO − , CO 3 2− , N(CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 − , N(C 2 F 5 SO 2 ) 2 − , and (CF 3 SO 2 ) 3 C − .

14. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one kind of a nonaqueous solvent selected from the group consisting of propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, diethyl carbonate and γ-butyrolactone.

15. A nonaqueous electrolyte battery comprising a positive electrode containing an active material, a negative electrode, a separator provided between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte; wherein:

the negative electrode includes a current collector and a negative electrode porous layer supported by the current collector, and the negative electrode porous layer containing a negative electrode active material, a conductive agent and a binder; and

the negative electrode active material is a metal oxide, a metal sulfide, a metal nitride or an alloy having a Li insertion potential of not lower than 0.2V (vs. Li/Li + ), the negative electrode active material has an average primary particle diameter not larger than 1 μm, and the negative electrode porous layer faces the separator and has a specific surface area as determined by the BET method utilizing a N 2 adsorption, which falls within a range of 3 to 50 m 2 /g.

16. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 15 , wherein the metal oxide includes a lithium titanium oxide and/or a titanium-containing composite oxide, and the active material of the positive electrode includes at least one kind of the compound selected from the group consisting of a lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese composite oxide, a Spinel-type lithium-manganese-nickel composite oxide, a lithium-phosphorus oxide having an olivine structure, a lithium-cobalt oxide, a lithium-nickel-cobalt composite oxide, and a lithium-manganese composite oxide.

17. A nonaqueous electrolyte battery, comprising a positive electrode containing an active material, a negative electrode, a separator provided between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte; wherein:

the negative electrode includes a current collector and a negative electrode porous layer supported by the current collector, and the negative electrode porous layer containing a negative electrode active material being a lithium titanium oxide and/or a titanium-containing composite oxide, a conductive agent and a binder; and

the negative electrode active material has an average primary particle diameter not larger than 1 μm, and the negative electrode porous layer faces the separator and has a specific surface area as determined by the BET method utilizing a N 2 adsorption, which falls within a range of 3 to 50 m 2 /g.

18. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 17 , wherein:

the active material of the positive electrode includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese composite oxide, a Spinel-type lithium-manganese-nickel composite oxide, a lithium-phosphorus oxide having an olivine structure, a lithium-cobalt oxide, a lithium-nickel-cobalt composite oxide, and a lithium-manganese composite oxide; and

the nonaqueous electrolyte contains alkyl imidazolium ion and/or tetraalkyl ammonium ion, lithium ion, and at least one kind of an anion selected from the group consisting of BF 4 − , PF 6 − , AsF 6 − , ClO 4 − , CF 3 SO 3 − , CF 3 COO − , CH 3 COO − , CO 3 2− , N(CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 − , N(C 2 F 5 SO 2 ) 2 − , and (CF 3 SO 2 ) 3 C − .

19. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 17 , wherein:

the active material of the positive electrode includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese composite oxide, a Spinel-type lithium-manganese-nickel composite oxide, a lithium-phosphorus oxide having an olivine structure, a lithium-cobalt oxide, a lithium-nickel-cobalt composite oxide, and a lithium-manganese composite oxide; and

the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one kind of an nonaqueous solvent selected from the group consisting of propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, diethyl carbonate, and γ-butyrolactone.

20. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 17 , wherein the current collector is formed of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

21. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the average primary particle diameter of the negative electrode active material is measured by a laser diffraction analysis.

22. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the active material of the positive electrode is Li x FePO 4 , where x is a range of 0 to 1.

23. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1 , wherein the separator is a cellulose unwoven fabric.

24. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 15 , wherein the average primary particle diameter of the negative electrode active material is measured by a laser diffraction analysis.

25. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 15 , wherein the active material of the positive electrode is Li x FePO 4 , where x is a range of 0 to 1.

26. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 15 , wherein the separator is a cellulose unwoven fabric.

27. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 17 , wherein the average primary particle diameter of the negative electrode active material is measured by a laser diffraction analysis.

28. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 17 , wherein the active material of the positive electrode is Li x FePO 4 , where x is a range of 0 to 1.

29. The nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 17 , wherein the separator is a cellulose unwoven fabric.