US 11715825

US patent 11715825, titled "Electrodes, lithium-ion batteries, and methods of making and using same," was filed on February 8, 2022, and issued on August 1, 2023. The original assignee was Georgia Tech Research Corp, with the current assignee being Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. The inventors are Gleb Yushin, Oleksandr Magazynskyy, Patrick Dixon, and Benjamin Hertzberg.

Abstract:
The patent describes improved composite anodes and lithium-ion batteries, along with methods for their creation and use. The anodes feature a porous composite made of multiple agglomerated nanocomposites. Each nanocomposite contains a dendritic particle, which is a three-dimensional, randomly-ordered assembly of electrically conducting nanoparticles, and discrete, non-porous nanoparticles of a non-carbon Group 4A element (or a mixture) positioned on the dendritic particle's surface. Within the agglomerated nanocomposites, at least one dendritic particle is in electrical communication with an adjacent nanocomposite's dendritic particle.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes an anode for a lithium-ion battery. The anode consists of a porous composite containing many aggregated nanocomposites. Each of these nanocomposites includes a "dendritic particle," which is like a tiny, tree-shaped cluster of electrically conductive nanoparticles. On the surface of this dendritic particle are numerous separate, non-porous nanoparticles made from a non-carbon Group 4A element (such as silicon, germanium, tin, or lead, or their alloys). Crucially, these nanocomposites are arranged so that the dendritic particle of at least one nanocomposite is electrically connected to the dendritic particle of an adjacent nanocomposite.

• Independent Claim 13: This claim describes a lithium-ion battery that incorporates the anode described in Claim 1.

• Independent Claim 14: This claim outlines a method for making an anode. The method involves several steps:

  1. Creating a three-dimensional, randomly-ordered dendritic particle from individual nanoparticles of an electrically conducting material.
  2. Placing discrete, non-porous nanoparticles of a non-carbon Group 4A element (or a mixture) onto the surface of the dendritic particle, forming a "nanocomposite particle."
  3. Assembling multiple such nanocomposite particles to create either a single, solid body or a spherical granule. The assembly ensures that at least part of the dendritic particle in each nanocomposite is electrically connected to at least part of the dendritic particle in an adjacent nanocomposite.

USPTO and CAFC Docket Search:
As of April 26, 2026, the patent US11715825 is active. A search for "CAFC 2026 docket 11715825" did not return any specific dockets or cases related to this patent number in the 2026 calendar year. Therefore, no relevant litigation or appeals were found in the CAFC dockets for 2026 for this specific patent number.