Positive electrode including a binder for rechargeable lithium battery and rechargeable lithium battery including the same

1. A positive electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery, comprising:

a current collector; and

a positive active material layer disposed on the current collector and comprising a positive active material and a binder comprising an ion conductive copolymer, the ion conductive copolymer consisting essentially of one or more first repeating units represented by Chemical Formula 1, and one or more second repeating units represented by Chemical Formula 2:

*—R 3 —CR 1 (R 2 M)-*,  Chemical Formula 1

wherein,

R 1 is hydrogen, a C1 to C10 alkyl group, or an alkylene oxide group,

R 2 is a carboxylate group (—COO),

M is a metal ion of Li + , Na + , or K + , and

R 3 is a C1 to C10 alkylene group;

*—R 6 —CR 4 R 5 —*,  Chemical Formula 2

wherein,

R 4 is hydrogen, a C1 to C10 alkyl group, or an alkylene oxide group,

R 5 is —COOH, —COOR′ (R′ is a C1 to C10 alkyl group), or —SO 3 H and

R 6 is a C1 to C10 alkylene group.

2. The positive electrode of claim 1 , wherein the positive active material is selected from the group consisting of LiCoO 2 , LiMn 2 O 4 , LiMnPO 4 , LiFePO 4 , LiNiO 2 , LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 , and a combination thereof.

3. The positive electrode of claim 1 , wherein the positive active material is selected from the group consisting of LiMn 2 O 4 , LiMnPO 4 , LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 , and a combination thereof.

4. The positive electrode of claim 1 , wherein the ion conductive copolymer comprises about 50 mol % to about 95 mol % of the first repeating unit and about 5 mol % to about 50 mol % of the second repeating unit.

5. The positive electrode of claim 1 , wherein the ion conductive copolymer has a weight average molecular weight of 10,000 g/mol to 500,000 g/mol.

6. The positive electrode of claim 1 , wherein the binder further comprises a vinylidene fluoride-based polymer.

7. The positive electrode of claim 6 , wherein the vinylidene fluoride-based polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride, a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and a fluorinated alkylene, and a combination thereof.

8. The positive electrode of claim 7 , wherein the fluorinated alkylene is selected from the group consisting of hexafluoro propylene, trifluoro ethylene, tetrafluoro ethylene, and a combination thereof.

9. The positive electrode of claim 7 , wherein the copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and the fluorinated alkylene comprises 0.1 to 20 wt % of the fluorinated alkylene.

10. The positive electrode of claim 6 , wherein the vinylidene fluoride-based polymer has a weight average molecular weight of 100,000 g/mol to 1,000,000 g/mol.

11. The positive electrode of claim 6 , wherein the binder comprises 10 wt % to 90 wt % of the vinylidene fluoride-based polymer and 10 wt % to 90 wt % of the ion conductive copolymer.

12. The positive electrode of claim 1 , wherein the positive active material layer further comprises a conductive agent.

13. The positive electrode of claim 12 , wherein the conductive agent is selected from the group consisting of natural graphite, artificial graphite, carbon black, acetylene black, ketjen black, carbon fiber, a metal powder, a metal fiber, and a combination thereof.

14. The positive electrode of claim 12 , wherein the positive active material layer comprises 80 wt % to 95 wt % of the positive active material, 2.5 wt % to 15 wt % of the binder, and 2.5 to 10 wt % of the conductive agent.

15. A rechargeable lithium battery comprising:

the positive electrode of claim 1 ;

a negative electrode; and

an electrolyte solution.