High energy and high power lithium batteries, and method for producing the same

Claim 2

A high energy, high power lithium storage battery comprising an anode of lithium or of a lithium alloy with one or more metals, a nonaqueous electrolytic solution containing a lithium salt in one or more organic solvents, or a solid electrolyte consisting of a lithium salt/polymeric material complex, and a cathode based on a lithium-­vanadium oxide corresponding to the nominal stoichiometric formula LiV₃O₈, characterized in that said oxide is in its amorphous form.

Claim 3

A storage battery according to claim 1, wherein the said amorphous oxide is obtainable by reaction of LiOH with V₂O₅ in the molar ratio of about 2/3 in aqueous solution.

Claim 4

A storage battery according to claim 2, wherein the said reaction in aqueous solution is carried out at room temperature.

Claim 5

A storage battery according to each one of the preceding claims 1-3, wherein the said cathode also contains conductive addi­tives such as graphite, acetylene black and carbon.

Claim 6

A storage battery according to each one of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the said cathode also contains binding additives, such as Teflon, polyethylene and polypropylene.

Claim 7

A storage battery according to each one of the preceding claims 1-5, wherein the said metal alloyed with lithium is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, cadmium, tin, lead, bismuth, chromium and manganese.

Claim 8

A storage battery according to each one of the preceding claims 1-6, wherein the said lithium salt is selected from the group consisting of LiClO₄, LiAsF₆, LiBF₄ and LiCF₃SO₃.

Claim 9

A storage battery according to each one of the preceding claims 1-7, wherein said one or more organic solvents are selected from the group consisting of: propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, dimethoxyethane, methylformate, tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyltetrahydro­furan, sulfolane and mixtures thereof.

Claim 10

A storage battery according to each one of the preceding claims 1-7, wherein the said polymeric material in the solid elec­trolyte is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide and mixtures thereof.

Claim 11

A process for the production of a lithium storage battery according to claims 1-5, wherein the preparation of the cathode comprises the following steps: a) dissolving powder LiOH into water b) adding V₂O₅ progressively and under stirring up to a molar ratio LiOH/V₂O₅ of about 2/3 c) separating, after about 24-40 hours from the start of the reaction, the precipitate so obtained, washing it with water and then separating it from the water d) drying the product of the preceding step so as to obtain a fine LiV₃O₈ powder e) mixing the said powder oxide with the cathodic additives, by dispersing the said materials in a solvent in which they are insol­uble, then stirring at high speed and then evaporating the solvent off f) milling the solid product obtained from the preceding step g) pressing said product on a nickel grid h) re-drying the cathode tablet by heating.

Claim 12

A process according to claim 10, wherein the said separa­tion of the precipitate obtained as the product in step c) is carried out 24 hours after the start of the reaction.

Claim 13

A storage according to claim 11, wherein the said reaction is carried out at room temperature.

Claim 14

A process according to each one of the preceding claims 10-12, wherein the said drying step d) is carried out in oven at 100-200°C.

Claim 15

A process according to each one of the preceding claims 10-13, wherein the said cathode additives are acetylene black and Teflon in the weight ratio of 2/1 with respect to one another, and they are added in such amount as to form a weight proportion of 20-30% of the cathode mixture.

Claim 16

A process according to each one of the preceding claims 10-14, wherein the said final re-drying is carried out at a tempera­ture between 100 and 260°C.

Claim 17

A high energy, high power lithium storage battery and the method for the production of the same, according to claims 1-15, substantially as disclosed and illustrated above.