Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which the decomposition of an electrolyte solution is reduced exhibits high coulombic efficiency and excellent charge and discharge cycle performance, and has high energy density. This nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes a negative electrode that is formed by depositing a thin film of active material on a collector by a CVD method, sputtering, evaporation, thermal spraying, or plating, wherein the thin film of the active material can lithiate and delithiate and is divided into columns by cracks formed in the thickness direction, and the bottom of each column is adhered to the collector; a positive electrode that can lithiate and delithiate; and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing a lithium salt in a nonaqueous solvent. The electrolyte solution contains a compound expressed by a general formula (I).

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which the decomposition of an electrolyte solution is reduced exhibits high coulombic efficiency and excellent charge and discharge cycle performance, and has high energy density. This nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes a negative electrode that is formed by depositing a thin film of active material on a collector by a CVD method, sputtering, evaporation, thermal spraying, or plating, wherein the thin film of the active material can lithiate and delithiate and is divided into columns by cracks formed in the thickness direction, and the bottom of each column is adhered to the collector; a positive electrode that can lithiate and delithiate; and a nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing a lithium salt in a nonaqueous solvent. The electrolyte solution contains a compound expressed by a general formula (I).

Abstract: A rechargeable lithium battery including a negative electrode made by depositing a noncrystalline thin film composed entirely or mainly of silicon on a current collector, a positive electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte, characterized in that said nonaqueous electrolyte contains carbon dioxide dissolved therein.

Abstract: A rechargeable lithium battery including a negative electrode made by sintering, on a surface of a conductive metal foil as a current collector, a layer of a mixture of active material particles containing silicon and/or a silicon alloy and a binder, a positive electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte, characterized in that the nonaqueous electrolyte contains carbon dioxide dissolved therein.

Abstract: An electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery, comprising a current collector layer composed of a metal incapable of alloying with Li, an active material layer provided on said current collector layer and composed of a metal capable of alloying with Li and a surface coating layer provided on a surface of said active material layer, opposite to the surface on which the current collector layer is provided, and composed of a metal incapable of alloying with Li or composed of an alloy of a metal incapable of alloying with Li and a metal capable of alloying with Li.

Abstract: A lithium secondary battery of the present invention comprises a positive electrode formed by disposing a positive-electrode mixture layer containing a positive-electrode active material and a positive-electrode binder, on a surface of a positive-electrode current collector; a negative electrode formed by sintering a negative-electrode mixture layer containing a negative-electrode binder and a negative-electrode active material containing silicon and/or a silicon alloy, disposed on a surface of a negative-electrode current collector; a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and a nonaqueous electrolyte; wherein an electrode unit obtained by setting the positive electrode and the negative electrode opposed to each other through the separator and rolling them in spirally rolled state is placed in a cylindrical battery container and wherein a curvature radius of the negative-electrode mixture layer opposed to the positive-electrode mixture layer through the separator in the

Abstract: Charge-discharge cycle performance is improved in a lithium secondary battery that uses a material that occludes lithium by alloying with lithium as its negative electrode active material. A lithium secondary battery comprises a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material thin film provided on a negative electrode current collector, a positive electrode including a positive electrode active material, and a non-aqueous electrolyte, in which the negative electrode active material is a material that occludes lithium by alloying with lithium, the ratio of the discharge capacity per unit area of the negative electrode to the discharge capacity per unit area of the positive electrode is from 1.5 to 3, and the ratio of the thickness (?m) of the negative electrode active material to the arithmetical mean roughness Ra (?m) of the surface of the negative electrode current collector is 50 or less.

Abstract: Charge-discharge cycle performance is improved in a lithium secondary battery including a negative electrode containing a negative electrode active material having silicon as its main component, provided on a surface of a current collector, a positive electrode containing a positive electrode active material, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The positive electrode active material is a lithium transition metal oxide containing Li and Co and having a layered structure, and further containing a group IVA element of the periodic table, such as Zr, Ti, or Tf, and a group IIA element of the periodic table, such as Mg.

Abstract: A rechargeable lithium battery including a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte, said positive or negative electrode being an electrode which has, on a current collector, a thin film of active material that stores and releases lithium, the thin film of active material being divided into columns by gaps formed therein in a manner to extend in its thickness direction, and the columnar portions being at their bottoms adhered to the current collector, the rechargeable lithium battery being characterized in that the nonaqueous electrolyte includes a mixed solvent consisting of two or more different solvents and containing at least ethylene carbonate and/or vinylene carbonate as its constituent.

Abstract: An electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery which includes a current collector and a thin film composed of active material that stores and releases lithium and deposited on the current collector, the electrode being characterized in that the current collector has irregularities on its surface and the thin film has spaces extending in a thickness direction of the thin film and configured to increase their width dimensions toward valleys of the irregularities on the current collector surface.

Abstract: A lithium battery employs for a battery separator and a battery insulating packing and the like a battery polymeric material comprising repeating units wherein p-phenylene is combined with one type of group selected from the group composed of oxygen, a methylene group, an isopropylidene group, a carbonyl group, a carbonyldioxy group, a carboxylic acid anhydride group, an amide group, an ureylene group and a sulfonyl group, or a polymeric material comprising at least two types of repeating units wherein p-phenylene is combined with one type of group selected from the group composed of oxygen, a methylene group, an isopropylidene group, a carbonyl group, a carbonyldioxy group, a carboxylic acid anhydride group, an amide group, an ureylene group, a sulfonyl group, sulfur and a carbonyloxy group.

Abstract: A lithium secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein the positive electrode or the negative electrode is an electrode obtained by depositing a thin film of active material capable of lithium storage and release on a current collector, the thin film is divided into columns by gaps formed therein in a manner to extend in its thickness direction and the columnar portions are adhered at their bottoms to the current collector, and the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one selected from phosphate ester, phosphite ester, borate ester and carboxylic ester having a fluoroalkyl group.

Abstract: An electrode for a lithium secondary battery includes a thin film of an active material having a first phase that reacts with Li dominantly and a second phase that reacts less readily with Li than the first phase and exists at least before initial-cycle charging and after discharging in each cycle following the initial cycle. A surface of the current collector has an arithmetical mean roughness Ra of 0.1 &mgr;m or greater. A surface of the thin film has irregularities formed corresponding to the irregularities of the current collector surface. By the charging and discharging in the initial cycle and thereafter, gaps form along the thin-film thickness on lines connecting valleys in the thin-film surface irregularities and valleys in the current-collector surface irregularities, and the thin film is divided into columnar or insular structures by the gaps.

Abstract: A lithium battery employs for a battery separator and a battery insulating packing and the like a battery polymeric material comprising repeating units wherein p-phenylene is combined with one type of group selected from the group composed of oxygen, a methylene group, an isopropylidene group, a carbonyl group, a carbonyldioxy group, a carboxylic acid anhydride group, an amide group, an ureylene group and a sulfonyl group, or a polymeric material comprising at least two types of repeating units wherein p-phenylene is combined with one type of group selected from the group composed of oxygen, a methylene group, an isopropylidene group, a carbonyl group, a carbonyldioxy group, a carboxylic acid anhydride group, an amide group, an ureylene group, a sulfonyl group, sulfur and a carbonyloxy group.

Abstract: An electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery which includes a current collector and a thin film composed of active material that stores and releases lithium and deposited on the current collector, the electrode being characterized in that the current collector has irregularities on its surface and the thin film has spaces extending in a thickness direction of the thin film and configured to increase their width dimensions toward valleys of the irregularities on the current collector surface.

Abstract: A lithium secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein the positive electrode or the negative electrode is an electrode obtained by depositing a thin film of active material capable of lithium storage and release on a current collector, the thin film is divided into columns by gaps formed therein in a manner to extend in its thickness direction and the columnar portions are adhered at their bottoms to the current collector, and the nonaqueous electrolyte contains at least one selected from phosphate ester, phosphite ester, borate ester and carboxylic ester having a fluoroalkyl group.

Abstract: A method of charging and discharging a lithium secondary battery in which a negative electrode comprises an active material including silicon provided on a current collector which is a metal which does not form an alloy with lithium. The method is characterized in that the lithium secondary battery is charged and discharged within a range of state of charge (SOC) at which no peak corresponding to a compound of lithium and silicon is observed in an X-ray diffraction pattern during charging using CuK&agr;-radiation as the X-ray source.

Abstract: A first lithium secondary battery of the present invention is formed by placing at least a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte in a battery case in which a positive electrode connecting member to which the positive electrode is connected and a negative electrode connecting member to which the negative electrode is connected are electrically separated, wherein said positive electrode connecting member is composed of clad material comprising one of aluminum or aluminum alloy and one of austenitic stainless steel or ferrite stainless steel, and the aluminum or aluminum alloy in the clad material is in the positive electrode side.

Abstract: A rechargeable lithium battery using an Li alloying metal as the active material of at least one of its positive and negative electrodes. The metal active material is covered with a thin film which is nonreactive with Li ions, permits passage of Li ions but does not have an Li ion conductivity.

Abstract: An electrode for a lithium secondary battery comprises a current collector composed of a metal incapable of alloy formation with lithium, a thin film formed by depositing on the current collector and composed of an active material containing tin as a main component, and a tin oxide layer formed on the surface of the thin film.