A secondary battery with favorable cycle performance is provided. Alternatively, a secondary battery with higher capacity is provided. A positive electrode active material layer including a first graphene layer, a second graphene layer, and a positive electrode active material. The first graphene layer includes a first region covering the positive electrode active material. The second graphene layer includes a second region covering the positive electrode active material and a third region overlapping with the first region. The first region includes a plane positioned between the positive electrode active material and the third region and formed of arranged six-membered carbon rings. The positive electrode active material includes a fourth region with a layered rock-salt structure. A lithium layer with a layered rock-salt structure included in the fourth region is substantially perpendicular to the plane formed of six-membered carbon rings and included in the second region.

An electrochemical device, including a positive electrode. The positive electrode includes a positive current collector and a positive active material layer. The positive active material layer includes particles A and particles B. A circularity of a particle A is R.sub.A, a cross-sectional area of the particle A is S.sub.A, a circularity of a particle B is R.sub.B, a cross-sectional area of the particle B is S.sub.B, where R.sub.B<0.4≤R.sub.A and S.sub.B<20 μm.sup.2≤S.sub.A. Based on a total area of a cross section of the positive electrode in a direction perpendicular to the positive current collector, a ratio of a total area percent of the particles A to a total area percent of the particles B is 1:9 to 8:2. The electrochemical device exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, especially reduces the amount of generated gas and improves cycle stability of the electrochemical device.

Provided is a positive electrode for a secondary battery, which has a multi-layer structure including a first positive electrode active material layer and a second positive electrode active material layer, wherein the first positive electrode active material layer includes a first lithium composite transition metal oxide containing nickel, cobalt, and manganese, the second positive electrode active material layer includes a second lithium composite transition metal oxide containing nickel, cobalt, and manganese, the first lithium composite transition metal oxide and the second lithium composite transition metal oxide have mutually different nickel contents, wherein the positive electrode active material layer including a lithium composite transition metal oxide having a relatively high nickel content includes an electrolyte additive, and the positive electrode active material layer including a lithium composite transition metal oxide having a relatively low nickel content does not include an electrolyte additive.

A positive electrode material in one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a positive electrode active material; and a first solid electrolyte that covers the surface of the positive electrode active material. The first solid electrolyte contains Li, M1, O, and X1. M1 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb and Ta. X1 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br, and I.

There is provided a method for collecting and reusing an active material from positive electrode scrap. The method for reusing a positive electrode active material of the present disclosure includes (a) thermally treating positive electrode scrap comprising an active material layer on a current collector in air for thermal decomposition of a binder and a conductive material in the active material layer, to separate the current collector from the active material layer, and collecting an active material in the active material layer, (b-1) washing the active material collected from the step (a) with a lithium compound solution which is basic in an aqueous solution, (b-2) mixing the active material washed from the step (b-1) with a lithium precursor aqueous solution and spray drying, and (c) annealing the active material spray dried from the step (b-2) to obtain a reusable active material.

Provided is an electrode mixture containing a lithium-containing transition metal oxide; a conductive additive; a binder; and an organic solvent, wherein the conductive additive comprises at least one nanocarbon material selected from the group consisting of a multilayer carbon nanotube, a carbon nanohorn, a carbon nanofiber, a fullerene, and a graphene, the binder comprises a fluorine-containing copolymer comprising vinylidene fluoride unit and a fluorinated monomer unit, provided that vinylidene fluoride unit is excluded from the fluorinated monomer unit, and a content of vinylidene fluoride unit in the fluorine-containing copolymer is more than 50 mol % and 99 mol % or less with respect to all monomer units.

Provided is an electrode mixture containing a lithium-containing transition metal oxide; a conductive additive; a binder; and an organic solvent, wherein the conductive additive comprises at least one nanocarbon material selected from the group consisting of a multilayer carbon nanotube, a carbon nanohorn, a carbon nanofiber, a fullerene, and a graphene, the binder comprises a fluorine-containing copolymer comprising vinylidene fluoride unit and a fluorinated monomer unit, provided that vinylidene fluoride unit is excluded from the fluorinated monomer unit, and a content of vinylidene fluoride unit in the fluorine-containing copolymer is more than 50 mol % and 99 mol % or less with respect to all monomer units.

An irreversible additive contained in a cathode material for a secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the irreversible additive being an oxide represented by the following chemical formula 1, wherein the oxide has a trigonal crystal structure,

Li.sub.2+aNi.sub.1−bTi.sub.bO.sub.2+c   (1) in the above formula, −0.2≤a≤0.2, 0<b≤0.2, and 0≤c≤0.2.

There is provided a method for collecting and reusing an active material from positive electrode scrap. The positive electrode active material reuse method of the present disclosure includes (a) thermally treating positive electrode scrap comprising an active material layer on a current collector in air for thermal decomposition of a binder and a conductive material in the active material layer, to separate the current collector from the active material layer, and collecting an active material in the active material layer, (b) washing the collected active material using a lithium precursor aqueous solution which is basic in an aqueous solution and drying, and (c) annealing the washed active material to obtain a reusable active material.

A method of producing a positive electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, includes: providing a lithium transition metal composite oxide having a layered structure, having a ratio D.sub.50/D.sub.SEM of 1 or more and 4 or less, and having a certain content of nickel and a certain content of cobalt; bringing the lithium transition metal composite oxide into contact with a cobalt compound to obtain an adhered material; heat-treating the adhered material at a temperature higher than 700° C. and lower than 1100° C. to obtain a heat-treated product; obtaining a positive electrode composition containing the heat-treated product, a conductive auxiliary agent, and a binder; and applying and pressurizing the positive electrode composition onto a collector to form an active material layer having a density of 2.7 g/cm.sup.3 or more and 3.9 g/cm.sup.3 or less on the collector.