Negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries

1. A negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, comprising:

lithium silicate composite particles including a lithium silicate phase and silicon particles dispersed in the lithium silicate phase,

the lithium silicate phase being an oxide phase including Li, Si, O, and M, where

M is an element other than the following elements: Group 1 elements of alkali metals, Group 16 elements of oxygen group, Group 18 elements of rare gas, and Si, wherein

an amount of each element relative to a total amount of Li, Si and M in the lithium silicate phase is 3 mol % to 55 mol % for Li, 25 mol % or more for Si, and 3 mol % to 50 mol % for M;

a carbon material is present inside the lithium silicate composite particles;

an area ratio of the carbon material measured within an entire area excluding a peripheral region of 1 μm thick from a peripheral edge of a cross section of the lithium silicate composite particles is 0.008% to 6%, wherein the area ratio is an average of measurements of ten lithium silicate composite particles having a maximum diameter of 5 μm or more included in a cross-sectional image of an active material mixture layer containing the negative electrode active material;

the lithium silicate composite particles include an aggregate of a plurality of primary particles, the primary particles including the lithium silicate phase and the silicon particles;

the aggregate comprises a sintered body of the primary particles defining a linear continuous interface between said primary particles; and

the carbon material is present at at least part of the interface between the primary particles adjacent to each other, inside the lithium silicate composite particles.

2. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of Li to Si in the lithium silicate phase satisfies 0<Li/Si<1 in terms of a molar ratio.

3. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , wherein the M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ca, Mg, B, Al, Zr, Nb, Ta, La, V, Y, Ti, P, and W.

4. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , wherein an area ratio of the carbon material occupying the cross section of the lithium silicate composite particles is 1% to 5%.

5. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , wherein the carbon material includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a carbon compound and a carbonaceous material.

6. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , wherein

the carbon material is present also inside the lithium silicate phase, and between the lithium silicate phase and the silicon particles, inside the lithium silicate composite particles, and

the carbon material is chemically bonded to, and localized on, surfaces of the primary particles, so as to linearly extend in a network configuration along the surfaces of the primary particles.

7. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , further comprising an electrically conductive material covering at least part of a surface of the lithium silicate composite particles, wherein

the carbon material is present so as to extend linearly on the cross section, from an interior toward the surface of the lithium silicate composite particles, along the interface between the primary particles adjacent to each other, and

an end of the carbon material on the surface side of the lithium silicate composite particles is in contact with the conductive material.

8. A negative electrode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, comprising:

a current collector, and a negative electrode active material layer supported on the current collector,

the negative electrode active material layer containing the lithium silicate composite particles of claim 1 , and a binder.

9. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 1 , wherein the M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of B, Ta, La, Y and P.

10. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 9 , wherein the M further includes at least one of Ca, Mg, Al, Zr, Nb, V, T and W.

11. A negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, comprising:

lithium silicate composite particles including a lithium silicate phase and silicon particles dispersed in the lithium silicate phase,

the lithium silicate phase being an oxide phase including Li, Si, O, and M, where

M is an element other than the following elements: Group 1 elements of alkali metals, Group 16 elements of oxygen group, Group 18 elements of rare gas, and Si, wherein

an amount of each element relative to a total amount of Li, Si and M in the lithium silicate phase is 3 mol % to 55 mol % for Li, 25 mol % or more for Si, and 3 mol % to 50 mol % for M;

a carbon material is present inside the lithium silicate composite particles;

an area ratio of the carbon material measured within an entire area excluding a peripheral region of 1 μm thick from a peripheral edge of a cross section of the lithium silicate composite particles is 0.008% to 6%, wherein the area ratio is an average of measurements of ten lithium silicate composite particles having a maximum diameter of 5 μm or more included in a cross-sectional image of an active material mixture layer containing the negative electrode active material; and

the M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of B, Ta, La, Y and P.

12. The negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries of claim 11 , wherein the M further includes at least one of Ca, Mg, Al, Zr, Nb, V, T and W.