US 12,009,507 B2
Methods and systems for salt-rinse surface doping of electrode materials
Lei Liu, Cambridge, MA (US); Kitae Kim, Cambridge, MA (US); Lixin Wang, Belmont, MA (US); Anil Parmar, Marlboro, MA (US); Bryan Kim, Waltham, MA (US); Chloe Harrison, Brighton, MA (US); Andrew Millonig, Billerica, MA (US); Derek Johnson, Fort Collins, CO (US); Eunsung Lee, Winchester, MA (US); and Taehwan Yu, Burlington, MA (US)
Assigned to A123 SYSTEMS LLC, Novi, MI (US)
Filed by A123 Systems LLC, Novi, MI (US)
Filed on Jul. 27, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/443,805.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/059,129, filed on Jul. 30, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0037651 A1, Feb. 3, 2022
Int. Cl. H01M 4/36 (2006.01); C01G 53/00 (2006.01); H01M 4/04 (2006.01); H01M 4/505 (2010.01); H01M 4/525 (2010.01); H01M 4/02 (2006.01)
CPC H01M 4/366 (2013.01) [C01G 53/50 (2013.01); H01M 4/049 (2013.01); H01M 4/505 (2013.01); H01M 4/525 (2013.01); C01P 2002/52 (2013.01); C01P 2004/80 (2013.01); C01P 2006/40 (2013.01); H01M 2004/028 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
 
1. A method, comprising:
dissolving a dopant salt in a rinsing solvent to form a dopant salt rinse solution;
rinsing an electrode active material with the dopant salt rinse solution to obtain a uniformly surface-coated electrode active material, wherein rinsing the electrode active material with the dopant salt rinse solution to obtain the uniformly surface-coated electrode active material comprises:
mixing the electrode active material with the dopant salt rinse solution to form a mixture, wherein mixing the electrode active material with the dopant salt rinse solution comprises:
dissolving a residual lithium salt on a surface of the electrode active material; and
precipitating a dopant precipitate on the surface of the electrode active material while producing a product salt, where the dopant precipitate is formed from a cation of the dopant salt and an anion of the residual lithium salt, where the product salt is formed from lithium and an anion of the dopant salt is soluble in the dopant salt rinse solution, and where the dopant precipitate has a lower solubility in the dopant salt rinse solution than each of the residual lithium salt and the product salt;
filtering the mixture to isolate a filtrate; and
drying the filtrate to obtain the uniformly surface-coated electrode active material; and
heating the uniformly surface-coated electrode active material to form a uniformly surface-doped electrode active material.