Lithium containing nanofibers

Abstract

Lithium-containing nanofibers, as well as processes for making the same, are disclosed herein. In some embodiments described herein, using high throughput (e.g., gas assisted and/or water based) electrospinning processes produce nanofibers of high energy capacity materials with continuous lithium-containing matrices or discrete crystal domains.

We claim: 
     
         1 - 43 . (canceled) 
     
     
         44 . A process for producing a nanofiber comprising a backbone of a lithium-containing-material, the process comprising:
 gas-assisted electrospinning a fluid stock to produce a nanofiber, the fluid stock comprising a combination of (i) polymer, (ii) lithium salt, and (iii) nickel precursor, cobalt precursor, manganese precursor, or a combination thereof;   thermally treating the nanofiber under oxidative conditions at a temperature of at least 300° C. to produce the lithium-containing nanofiber;   the lithium-containing-material having formula (I):
   Li a M b X c    (I)
 
   
       wherein
 M is Ni, Co, Mn, or a combination thereof; 
 X is O; 
 a is 1-2; 
 b is 0-2; and 
 c is 1-4. 
 
     
     
         45 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the polymer is polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         46 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the fluid stock is aqueous. 
     
     
         47 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the combined concentration of lithium salt and metal precursor is present in or provided into the fluid stock in a concentration of at least 200 mM. 
     
     
         48 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the polymer comprises a plurality of repeating monomeric residues, and the combined lithium salt and metal precursor being combined with the polymer in a precursor-to-monomeric residue ratio of at least 1:4. 
     
     
         49 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the fluid stock comprises a combination of nickel precursor, cobalt precursor, and manganese precursor. 
     
     
         50 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the fluid stock comprises a combination of nickel precursor, cobalt precursor, and manganese precursor in a molar ratio of about 1:1:1. 
     
     
         51 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the fluid stock comprises a combination of lithium salt and metal precursor in a ratio of about a:b. 
     
     
         52 . The process of  claim 44 , wherein the fluid stock comprises a combination of lithium salt and metal precursor in a ratio of >a:b. 
     
     
         53 . A nanofiber comprising a backbone of a lithium-containing-material, the lithium-containing-material having the formula (I):
   Li a M b X c    (I)
   
       wherein
 M is Ni, Co, Mn, or a combination thereof 
 X is O; 
 a is 1-2; 
 b is 0-2; and 
 c is 1-2. 
 
     
     
         54 . The nanofiber of  claim 53 , wherein a is 1 and b is 1. 
     
     
         55 . The nanofiber of  claim 53 , wherein M is (Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 ). 
     
     
         56 . The nanofiber  claim 53 , wherein the lithium-containing-material comprises at least 80 wt. % of the nanofiber. 
     
     
         57 . The nanofiber of  claim 53 , wherein the nanofiber comprises at least 2.5 wt. % lithium. 
     
     
         58 . The nanofiber of  claim 53 , wherein at least 10% of the atoms present in the nanofiber are lithium atoms. 
     
     
         59 . The nanofiber of  claim 53 , having an initial capacity of at least 100 mAh/g as a cathode in a lithium ion battery at a charge/discharge rate of 0.1 C. 
     
     
         60 . The nanofiber of  claim 53 , having a diameter of less than 1 micron, and a specific surface are of at least 10 m 2 /g. 
     
     
         61 . A composition comprising a combination of polymer and metal precursor; the metal precursor comprising lithium salt, nickel precursor, cobalt precursor, and manganese precursor; the polymer being polyvinylalcohol (PVA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), or polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP); and the metal precursor being combined with the polymer in a metal precursor-to-polymer weight ratio of at least 1:4. 
     
     
         62 . The composition of  claim 61 , wherein the metal precursor-to-polymer weight ratio is at least 1:2. 
     
     
         63 . The composition of  claim 61 , wherein the composition is a fluid and the combined concentration of the metal precursor is at least 200 mM.