Negative electrode for a lithium ion battery

1. A negative electrode for a lithium ion battery, comprising:

an active electrode material selected from the group consisting of FeSn, FeSn 2 , Cu 6 Sn 5 , Sn—Sb, SnO 2 , and combinations thereof;

a conductive additive; and

a binder holding the active electrode material and the conductive additive together, the binder being a protein in a form of a solid particle or pellet;

wherein: the active electrode material is present in an amount ranging from about 80 wt % to about 98 wt % of the negative electrode; the conductive additive is present in an amount ranging from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt % of the negative electrode; and the binder is present in an amount ranging from about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % of the negative electrode.

2. The negative electrode as defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive additive is selected from the group consisting of carbon blacks and nickel powders.

3. The negative electrode as defined in claim 1 wherein the negative electrode includes 85 wt % of the active electrode material, 5 wt % of the conductive additive, and 10 wt % of the binder.

4. A lithium ion battery, comprising:

a positive electrode;

the negative electrode of claim 1 ; and

an electrolyte disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode.

5. The lithium ion battery as defined in claim 4 wherein the conductive additive is selected from the group consisting of carbon blacks and nickel powders.

6. The lithium ion battery as defined in claim 4 wherein the positive electrode is selected from the group consisting of lithium composite oxide, a polyanion, and combinations thereof.

7. The lithium ion battery as defined in claim 4 wherein the electrolyte is selected from the group consisting of lithium hexafluorophosphate, lithium tetrafluoroborate, lithium perchlorate, lithium hexafluoroarsenate, lithium bisperfluoroethanesulfonimide, and combinations thereof.

8. A method of forming a negative electrode for a lithium ion battery, the method comprising:

dissolving a binder in water to form a solution having a concentration ranging from about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % of the binder, the binder being a protein in a form of a solid particle or pellet;

mixing an active electrode material with the binder solution to form a mixture, the active electrode material being selected from the group consisting of FeSn, FeSn 2 , Cu 6 Sn 5 , Sn—Sb, and SnO 2 ; and

introducing a conductive additive to the mixture;

wherein the negative electrode consists of the binder, the active electrode material and the conductive additive,

and wherein: the active electrode material is present in an amount ranging from about 80 wt % to about 98 wt % of the negative electrode; the conductive additive is present in an amount ranging from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt % of the negative electrode; and the binder is present in an amount ranging from about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % of the negative electrode.

9. The method as defined in claim 8 wherein prior to mixing the active electrode material with the binder solution, the method further comprises sonicating the solution at ambient temperature for a predetermined amount of time.

10. The method as defined in claim 8 wherein after the conductive additive is introduced, the method further comprises removing at least a portion of the water from the mixture to obtain a slurry having a viscosity ranging from about 100 cP to about 100,000 cP.

11. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein the electrode includes a current collector, and wherein the method further comprises applying the slurry onto a surface of the current collector to form a substantially uniform coating on the surface of the current collector.

12. The method as defined in claim 8 wherein the mixing is accomplished by i) stirring, or ii) ultrasonicating, or iii) ultrasonicating followed by stirring.