Aluminum alloy foil for electrode collector and production method therefor

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an aluminum alloy foil for an electrode current collector and a manufacturing method thereof, the foil having a high strength and high strength after a drying process after the application of the active material while keeping a high electrical conductivity. Disclosed is a method for manufacturing an aluminum alloy foil for electrode current collector, including: forming by continuous casting an aluminum alloy sheet containing 0.03 to 1.0% of Fe, 0.01 to 0.2% of Si, 0.0001 to 0.2% of Cu, with the rest being Al and unavoidable impurities, performing cold rolling to the aluminum alloy sheet at a cold rolling reduction of 80% or lower, and performing heat treatment at 550 to 620 C. for 1 to 15 hours.

Claims

1. A positive electrode, comprising: an electrode current collector comprising an aluminum foil consisting of 0.03 to 1.0 mass % (hereinafter referred to as %) of Fe, 0.01 to 0.2% of Si, 0.0001 to 0.2% of Cu, Al, and unavoidable impurities, and lithium containing metal oxide provided on the electrode current collector, wherein an electrical conductivity of the aluminum alloy foil is 57% IACS or higher, and a particle number of an intermetallic compounds having a maximum diameter length of 0.1 to 1.0 m or longer is 1.010.sup.4 particles/mm.sup.2 or more; and tensile strength of an original sheet after final cold rolling is preferably 180 MPa or higher, 0.2% yield strength thereof is preferably 160 MPa or higher, and tensile strength is 170 MPa or higher, and 0.2% yield strength is 150 MPa or higher even when heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes is performed.

2. A method for manufacturing the positive electrode of claim 1, comprising the step of: applying lithium containing metal oxide onto an aluminum alloy foil, wherein the aluminum alloy foil is obtained by the method comprising the steps of: continuous casting an aluminum alloy sheet consisting of 0.03 to 1.0% of Fe, 0.01 to 0.2% of Si, 0.0001 to 0.2% of Cu, Al, and unavoidable impurities, performing cold rolling to the aluminum alloy sheet at a cold rolling reduction of 80% or lower, and performing heat treatment at 550 to 620 C. for 1 to 15 hours.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Composition of Aluminum Alloy Foil

(1) The aluminum alloy foil for an electrode current collector according to the present invention comprises: 0.03 to 1.0% of Fe, 0.01 to 0.2% of Si, 0.01 to 0.2% of Cu, with the rest consisting of Al and unavoidable impurities.

(2) Fe is an element that increases strength by addition thereof, and 0.03 to 1.0% of Fe is included. When the additive amount of Fe is less than 0.03%, there is no contribution to the improvement in strength. On the other hand, when the additive amount of Fe exceeds 1.0%, coarse intermetallic compounds of AlFe based compound or AlFeSi based compound easily crystallize during the continuous casting, which leads to unfavorable phenomena of cut during the rolling and generation of pinholes.

(3) Si is an element that increases strength by addition thereof, and 0.01 to 0.2% of Si is included. When the additive amount of Si is less than 0.01%, there is no contribution to the improvement in strength. In addition, Si is included in a common aluminum based metal as impurities. As a result, in order to restrict the amount to less than 0.01%, a high-purity base metal should be used. This is difficult to achieve in view of economic reasons. On the other hand, when the additive amount of Si exceeds 0.2%, the size of the intermetallic compound crystallized during the continuous casting becomes large, resulting in the decrease in the particle number of the fine intermetallic compound which contributes to the improvement in strength. Accordingly, the strength of the aluminum alloy foil decreases.

(4) Cu is an element that increases strength by addition thereof, and 0.0001 to 0.2% of Cu is included. In order to restrict the additive amount of Cu to less than 0.0001%, a high-purity base metal should be used. This is difficult to achieve in view of economic reasons. On the other hand, when the additive amount of Cu exceeds 0.2%, the work hardening increases, thereby becoming prone to cut during the foil rolling.

(5) With regard to other points, a material of an embodiment of the present invention contains unavoidable impurities such as Ti, Cr, Ni, B, Zn, Mn, Mg, V, and/or Zr. An amount of each of the unavoidable impurities is preferably 0.02% or less, and a total amount thereof is preferably 0.15% or less.

(6) <Original Sheet Strength>

(7) With regard to an aluminum alloy primarily containing Fe, Si and Cu, when each of the elements are dissolved in the aluminum alloy as much as possible and the crystals of the intermetallic compound formed during the continuous casting is dispersed uniformly and finely, dislocation movement can be reduced, thereby achieving higher strength. Further, since the cooling speed is faster in the continuous casting than the semi-continuous casting and rolling, the content of the solid solution for each of the elements increase, and thus the work hardening during processing increase. Accordingly, strength of the aluminum alloy foil can be further improved by cold rolling and foil rolling.

(8) Tensile strength of an original sheet after final cold rolling is preferably 180 MPa or higher. Then, 0.2% yield strength thereof is preferably 160 MPa or higher. When the tensile strength is less than 180 MPa and the 0.2% yield strength is less than 160 MPa, the strength is insufficient. Consequently, tension imposed during application of an active material is likely to produce cuts and cracks.

(9) <Strength after Heat Treatment>

(10) A step of manufacturing a positive electrode plate includes a drying process after application of an active material so as to remove a solvent from the active material. At this drying process, heat treatment is carried out at a temperature of about 100 to 180 C. This heat treatment may cause a change in mechanical property because an aluminum alloy foil is softened. Thus, the mechanical property of the aluminum alloy foil after the heat treatment is critical. During heat treatment at 100 to 180 C., external heat energy activates dislocation and facilitates its movement. This decreases strength in the course of recovery thereof. In order to prevent the strength decrease in the course of the recovery during the heat treatment, reducing the dislocation movement by solid-solution elements or precipitates of intermetallic compound finely dispersed in the aluminum alloy is effective.

(11) In the present invention, it is preferable that the tensile strength is 170 MPa or higher and 0.2% yield strength is 150 MPa or higher after heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes. The strength after the heat treatment of the present invention is greatly affected by the intermetallic compound which is crystallized during the continuous casting. The faster the cooling speed during the continuous casting, the more the fine intermetallic compound is crystallized, thereby improving the strength after the heat treatment. When the afore-mentioned tensile strength after heat treatment is lower than 170 MPa and 0.2% yield strength is lower than 150 MPa, the aluminum alloy foil is easily deformed during the press working after the drying process. This strength is insufficient since the adhesion between the active material and the aluminum alloy foil decreases and the aluminum alloy foil becomes prone to ruptures during a slitting process.

(12) <Intermetallic Compound>

(13) Intermetallic compounds having a maximum diameter length of 0.1 to 1.0 m exist at the surface of the aluminum alloy foil, and the particle number of such intermetallic compound is 1.010.sup.4 particles/mm.sup.2 or more. These intermetallic compounds are AlFe based or AlFeSi based, and are finely crystallized during continuous casting. These fine intermetallic compounds improve the strength of the aluminum alloy foil by dispersion strengthening, while preventing the decrease in strength after the heat treatment.

(14) When the particle number of the intermetallic compounds having a maximum diameter length of 0.1 m or shorter is less than 1.010.sup.4 particles/mm.sup.2, contribution to the dispersion strengthening is small, and thus the strength decreases. The intermetallic compounds having a maximum diameter length of longer than 1.0 m have small contribution to the improvement in strength, and may become a trigger point of pinholes. Therefore, it is preferable to suppress such intermetallic compound. In addition, in order to enhance the dispersion strengthening by these intermetallic compound, the shape of the intermetallic compound becomes important. To suppress the dislocation movement during the drying process after the application of the active material, it is preferable that the aspect ratio, defined as the ratio of the long diameter of the intermetallic compound against the short diameter of the intermetallic compound, is 3 or less. The particle number of the intermetallic compound can be counted by observing the surface of the aluminum alloy foil using scanning electron microscope (SEM). In particular, the surface of the aluminum alloy foil is subjected to electropolishing to give a mirror state. Then, the reflected electron image is observed at a magnification of 1000 times for 30 visual fields. The particle number of the intermetallic compound is quantified by using an image analyzing device. The longer side of the intermetallic compound which is observed as a two dimensional shape in the visual field of the reflected electron image is defined as the maximum diameter length of the intermetallic compound.

(15) From these point of views, it is preferable that the particle number of the intermetallic compounds having a maximum diameter length of 2.0 m or longer and an aspect ratio of 3 or more is less as possible. The particle number of such intermetallic compound is preferably less than 2.210.sup.3 particles/mm.sup.2, and more preferably less than 1.210.sup.3 particles/mm.sup.2.

(16) <Electrical Conductivity>

(17) Electrical conductivity should be 57% IACS or higher. The electrical conductivity represents a solid solution state of a solute element, particularly of Fe, Si and the like. The electrical conductivity of the present invention is greatly affected by the temperature and by the holding time of the heat treatment performed at a high temperature after the continuous casting. When the temperature of the heat treatment is low and the holding time is long, more of Fe, Si and the like that were dissolved in a supersaturated manner would precipitate, thereby improving electrical conductivity. In the case where the electrode current collector of the present invention is used for the lithium-ion secondary batteries, when a discharge rate exceeds 5 C, which is a high current level, electrical conductivity of less than 57% IACS is not preferable because its battery capacity decrease. Note that the 1 C means a current level to complete, in one hour, the discharge from a cell having the nominal capacity value when a constant current at the current level is discharged from the cell.

(18) <Continuous Casting and Rolling>

(19) The aluminum alloy molten metal having the afore-mentioned composition is subjected to continuous casting and rolling to obtain a cast sheet. Typical continuous casting includes twin roll continuous casting and twin belt continuous casting. The twin roll continuous casting and rolling is a method which includes feeding of the aluminum alloy molten metal from a fire-resistive supply nozzle in between water cooled rolls facing each other, followed by continuous casting and rolling into a thin sheet. 3 C method, hunter method and the like are used in the industry. The twin belt continuous casting includes feeding the molten metal in between a pair of opposing upper and lower water-cooled circulating belts, followed by solidifying of the molten metal by cooling the molten metal with the surface of the belts, thereby continuously casting and rolling into a thin sheet. The present invention may adopt either one of the twin roll continuous casting or the twin belt continuous casting, and shall not be limited to a particular manufacturing method. Here, the twin roll continuous casting requires shorter time for the cooling when compared with the twin belt continuous casting, resulting in more fine crystals of the intermetallic compound, thereby achieving aluminum alloy foil with higher performance. Hereinafter, a manufacturing method using the twin roll continuous casting is described as one example of the continuous casting.

(20) The temperature of the molten metal when casting by the twin roll continuous casting is preferably in the range of 680 to 800 C. The temperature of the molten metal is the temperature of the head box located immediately before the supply nozzle. When the temperature of the molten metal is lower than 680 C., intermetallic compound is formed in the supply nozzle and becomes mixed into the sheet ingot, thereby causing cut in the sheet during cold rolling. When the temperature of the molten metal exceeds 800 C., the aluminum alloy molten metal does not solidify sufficiently in between the rolls during the casting, and thus normal cast sheet cannot be obtained. The thickness of the cast sheet after the continuous casting is 20 mm or less. When the thickness of the sheet exceeds 20 mm, the solidifying speed during the continuous casting becomes slow, coarsening the crystals of the intermetallic compound, thereby decreasing the particle number of the fine intermetallic compound which contributes to the dispersion strengthening.

(21) <Heat Treatment after Continuous Casting and Rolling>

(22) Cold rolling under rolling reduction ratio of 80% or lower is performed with the cast sheet obtained by the continuous casting and rolling, followed by heat treatment at 550 to 620 C. for 1 to 15 hours. The cast sheet after the continuous casting contains a large amount of solid solution of various additive elements. In particular, Fe is dissolved in a supersaturated manner, and thus the electrical conductivity is low. Therefore, by performing the heat treatment at a high temperature, Fe and Si which are dissolved in a supersaturated manner can partially precipitate, thereby improving the electrical conductivity.

(23) When the rolling reduction ratio of the cold rolling performed after the continuous casting and rolling exceeds 80%, the amount of cold rolling reduction from the thickness right after the heat treatment (at 550 to 620 C. for 1 to 15 hours) to the final thickness of the foil decreases. This results in reduction in accumulated strain and thus brings the unfavorable decrease in the strength of the final aluminum alloy foil. In addition, when the temperature of the heat treatment is lower than 550 C., more of the Fe dissolved in a supersaturated manner would precipitate, and the solid solution content of Fe decreases, which results in unfavorable decrease in strength. When the temperature of the heat treatment exceeds 620 C., the aluminum alloy sheet becomes prone to local melting, which is unfavorable. When the holding time is shorter than 1 hour, precipitation of the Fe dissolved in a supersaturated manner would not proceed, thereby resulting in unfavorable decrease in the electrical conductivity. When the holding time exceeds 15 hours, the cast sheet would occupy the heat treatment furnace for a long time. This is unfavorable from the viewpoint of productivity and cost. After performing the afore-mentioned heating treatment, cold rolling and foil rolling are performed to give the aluminum alloy foil. Here, the method for performing the cold rolling and the foil rolling are not particularly limited.

(24) In addition, the rolling reduction ratio of the cold rolling with respect to the cast sheet is preferably 20% or higher, and more preferably 50% or higher. When the rolling reduction ratio is too low, the amount of accumulated strain becomes less. This results in insufficient precipitation of Fe and Si that are dissolved in a supersaturated manner, which is unfavorable since it becomes difficult to obtain high electrical conductivity.

(25) <Thickness of the Aluminum Alloy Foil>

(26) After the final cold rolling, the aluminum alloy foil should have a thickness of 6 to 30 m. When the thickness is less than 6 m, pin holes are likely to occur during foil rolling. This situation is not preferable. When the thickness exceeds 30 m, the volume and weight of an electrode current collector increase and the volume and weight of an active material decrease in the same occupied space. In the case of a lithium-ion secondary battery, the above is not preferable because a battery capacity decreases.

EXAMPLES

(27) The present invention will be explained in details by referring to the following Examples 1 to 12. The Examples, however, are just examples, and thus the present invention shall not be limited to the Examples.

(28) Cast sheet with a thickness of 8 mm was prepared by the twin roll continuous casting using the aluminum alloy molten metal having the composition shown in Table 1. The cast sheet after the continuous casting was subjected to cold rolling under the rolling reduction ratio shown in Table 1, followed by heat treatment. After the heat treatment, cold rolling and foil rolling were continuously performed to give the aluminum alloy foil with the thickness of 15 m.

(29) Regarding Comparative Examples 13 to 19, aluminum alloy foils with the thickness of 15 m was obtained by the twin roll continuous casting with the conditions shown in Table 1, in a similar manner as the Examples. In Comparative Examples 20 and 21, ingots with the thickness of 500 mm were cast by a conventional manufacturing method of semi-continuous casting. Subsequently, homogenization treatment at 500 C. for 1 hour was performed, followed by hot rolling to give a cast sheet with the thickness of 4 mm. Then, cold rolling was performed until the thickness reached 0.8 mm, followed by intermediate annealing at 300 C. for 4 hours using a batch furnace. After the intermediate annealing, cold rolling and foil rolling were performed continuously to give the aluminum alloy foil with the thickness of 15 m.

(30) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 High Temperature Heat Treatment Conditons Chemical Component (mass. %) Cold Al and Rolling Retention Holding Foil Method of Unavoidable Reduction Temperature Time Thickness No. Casting Si Fe Cu Impurities Ratio(%) ( C.) (hr) (m) Example 1 Twin Roll 0.03 0.06 0.009 Rest 55 600 7 15 2 Continuous 0.07 0.32 0.02 Rest 65 600 5 15 3 Casting 0.13 0.44 0.03 Rest 60 620 10 15 4 0.13 0.44 0.03 Rest 60 550 10 15 5 0.16 0.79 0.16 Rest 75 580 7 15 6 0.16 0.79 0.16 Rest 25 580 7 15 7 0.01 0.06 0.0008 Rest 65 620 5 15 8 0.03 0.03 0.01 Rest 55 620 7 15 9 0.02 0.05 0.0002 Rest 50 620 10 15 10 0.19 0.68 0.09 Rest 65 550 7 15 11 0.14 0.96 0.15 Rest 80 550 10 15 12 0.12 0.48 0.19 Rest 80 550 15 15 Comparative 13 Twin Roll 0.22 0.11 0.0007 Rest 65 560 5 15 Example 14 Continuous 0.02 0.01 0.0008 Rest 65 560 5 15 15 Casting 0.18 1.50 0.12 Rest 65 560 5 15 16 0.17 0.85 0.3 Rest 65 560 5 15 17 0.03 0.05 0.0011 Rest 95 560 5 15 18 0.08 0.28 0.02 Rest 65 500 5 15 19 0.14 0.63 0.12 Rest 65 560 0.5 15 20 Semi-continuous 0.03 0.06 0.009 Rest Homogenizing Treatment 15 21 Casting 0.13 0.44 0.03 Rest 500 C. 1 hr 15 Intermediate annealing 300 C. 4 hr

(31) Next, each aluminum alloy foil was used to prepare a positive electrode material for a lithium-ion secondary battery. PVDF as a binder was added to an active material primarily containing LiCoO.sub.2 to yield the positive electrode slurry. This positive electrode slurry was applied on both surfaces of the aluminum alloy foil with a width of 30 mm. Then, the resulting aluminum alloy foil was subjected to heat treatment for drying under three different conditions including 120 C. for 24 hours, 140 C. for 3 hours, and 160 C. for 15 minutes. After that, a roller press machine was used to perform compression forming to increase the density of the active material.

(32) Each aluminum alloy foil as so manufactured was used to measure and evaluate: the tensile strength, 0.2% yield strength, electrical conductivity, particle number of the intermetallic compound, number of cuts occurred during foil rolling, and number of pin holes; the tensile strength and 0.2% yield strength after the heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours; the tensile strength and 0.2% yield strength after the heat treatment at 140 C. for 3 hours; and the tensile strength and 0.2% yield strength after the heat treatment at 160 C. for 15 minutes. Table 2 shows the results. In addition, occurrence of cut during the active material application step and the occurrence of detachment of active material were observed for each positive electrode materials. Table 3 shows the results.

(33) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Aluminum Alloy Foil Number of Original Sheet Intermetallic Heating at 120 C. Heating at 140 C. Heating at 160 C. Strength Elec- Compounds Pinhole for 24 Hours for 3 Hours for 15 Minutes 0.2% trical A B Density 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% Tensile Yield Conduc- ( 10.sup.4 ( 10.sup.3 Cut ( 10.sup.-3 Tensile Yield Tensile Yield Tensile Yield Strength Strength tivity particles/ particles/ During pinholes/ Strength Strength Strength Strength Strength Strength No. (N/mm.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) (% IACS) mm.sup.2) mm.sup.2) Rolling m.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) (N/mm.sup.2) Example 1 204 187 62.1 1.2 0.3 No 0.3 198 180 201 182 203 185 2 216 190 61.0 1.5 0.4 No 0.3 192 171 200 176 208 181 3 244 218 58.1 1.3 0.6 No 0.3 216 189 225 201 233 207 4 218 182 60.2 1.6 0.6 No 0.6 183 156 196 165 207 174 5 286 250 58.9 1.9 0.8 No 0.3 254 221 265 229 273 238 6 291 255 57.8 1.8 0.8 No 0.6 259 228 270 235 279 243 7 185 166 62.6 1.4 0.1 No 0.3 180 161 182 162 183 164 8 195 173 62.8 1.1 0.2 No 0.3 188 169 189 170 194 172 9 182 163 62.5 1.2 0.2 No 0.3 175 156 176 155 178 160 10 271 225 57.4 2.4 1.1 No 0.6 236 198 244 206 257 215 11 286 242 57.1 2.5 1.0 No 0.8 241 202 255 214 273 227 12 301 259 57.9 1.8 0.8 No 0.3 269 222 281 234 292 246 Compar- 13 178 160 61.4 0.8 3.1 No 0.8 181 138 184 140 171 149 ative 14 170 146 62.4 0.7 0.3 No 0.3 157 138 163 142 166 142 Example 15 220 184 57.1 2.3 2.9 No 3.3 187 156 198 167 211 175 16 329 283 57.3 1.8 1.1 Yes 0.8 286 247 301 263 316 271 17 163 146 62.8 1.1 0.4 No 0.3 145 129 152 135 158 141 18 175 153 60.6 1.2 0.7 No 0.3 151 133 156 141 167 146 19 264 221 56.4 1.5 0.9 No 0.6 227 188 239 201 250 212 20 160 141 63.8 0.2 2.3 No 0.3 134 112 145 121 152 133 21 176 155 60.9 0.5 3.7 No 0.3 142 121 156 131 163 140 A: Maximum Diameter Length 0.1 to 1.0 m B: Maximum Diameter Length 2.0 m or Longer and Aspect Ratio 3 or Higher

(34) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Positive Electrode Material Heating at 120 C. for 24 Hours Heating at 140 C. for 3 Hours Heating at 160 C. for 15 minutes Cut during Cut during Cut during Cut during Active-material- Detachment Active-material- Active-material- Detachment Active-material- application of Active application application of Active application No. Step Material Step Step Material Step Example 1 No No No No No No 2 No No No No No No 3 No No No No No No 4 No No No No No No 5 No No No No No No 6 No No No No No No 7 No No No No No No 8 No No No No No No 9 No No No No No No 10 No No No No No No 11 No No No No No No 12 No No No No No No Comparative 13 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Example 14 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 15 No No No No No No 16 No No No No No No 17 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 18 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 19 No No No No No No 20 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 21 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
<Tensile Strength and 0.2% Yield Strength>

(35) The tensile strength of the aluminum alloy foil which had been cut out in a direction of the rolling was measured with an Instron tension tester AG-10kNX, manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation. The measurement was performed under conditions with a test piece size of 10 mm100 mm, at a chuck distance of 50 mm, and at a crosshead speed of 10 mm/min. In addition, in order to simulate the drying process, heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes was carried out. Then, the aluminum alloy foil was cut out in a direction of the rolling. After that, the tensile strength was measured in the same manner as in the above. In addition, 0.2% yield strength was determined from a stress/strain curve.

(36) <Electrical Conductivity>

(37) With regard to electrical conductivity, electrical resistivity was measured by a four-terminal method, and was converted to electrical conductivity. The electrical conductivity of 57% IACS or higher was considered acceptable and the electrical conductivity of less than 57% IACS was determined as unacceptable.

(38) <Particle Number of the Intermetallic Compound>

(39) The particle number of the intermetallic compound was counted by observing the surface of the aluminum alloy foil using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The surface of the aluminum alloy foil was subjected to electropolishing to give a mirror state. Then, the reflected electron image was observed at a magnification of 1000 times for 30 visual fields. The particle number of the intermetallic compound was quantified by using an image analyzing device.

(40) <Pinhole Density>

(41) A coil with a width of 0.6 m and a length of 6000 m was made from the aluminum alloy foil which was performed with foil rolling until the foil reaches a thickness of 15 m. The number of pinholes was observed using a surface inspection machine. The number of the pinholes observed was divided by the total surface area to give the number of pinholes per 1 m.sup.2 unit area. This value was taken as the pinhole density. The pinhole density of less than 2.010.sup.3 pinholes/m.sup.2 was considered acceptable and the pinhole density of 2.010.sup.3 pinholes/m.sup.2 or more was determined as unacceptable.

(42) <Whether or not Cut Occurs During Active-Material-Application Step>

(43) Whether or not a cut occurred in a positive electrode material applied during an active-material-application step was visually inspected. The case without a cut was considered acceptable, and the case with a cut was determined as unacceptable.

(44) <Whether or not Active Material Detaches>

(45) The presence or absence of the active material detachment was visually inspected. When no detachment occurred, the case was considered acceptable. When at least some detachment occurred, the case was determined as unacceptable.

(46) In Examples 1 to 12, no cut occurred during the active material application step, no detachment of the active material was observed, high electrical conductivity was obtained, and thus excellent evaluation result was achieved.

(47) In Comparative Example 13, the high content of Si resulted in small particle number of fine intermetallic compound, insufficient strength before and after heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours or at 140 C. for 3 hours, thereby causing cut during the active material application step and detachment of the active material.

(48) In Comparative Example 14, the low content of Fe resulted in insufficient strength before and after heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes, thereby causing cut during the active material application step and detachment of the active material.

(49) In Comparative Example 15, the high content of Fe resulted in generation of many pinholes.

(50) In Comparative Example 16, the high content of Cu resulted in too high work hardening, thereby causing cut during the foil rolling.

(51) In Comparative Example 17, the high rolling reduction ratio during the cold rolling before the heat treatment at high temperature resulted in the decrease of the amount of cold rolling reduction from the thickness right after the heat treatment to the final thickness of the foil, insufficient strength before and after heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes, thereby causing cut during the active material application step and detachment of the active material.

(52) In Comparative Example 18, the low temperature of the heating treatment resulted in a large amount of Fe dissolved in a supersaturated manner to precipitate, insufficient strength before and after heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes, thereby causing cut during the active material application step and detachment of the active material.

(53) In Comparative Example 19, the short holding time for the heat treatment resulted in high solid solution content of Fe, thereby causing decrease in the electrical conductivity.

(54) In Comparative Examples 20 and 21, the adoption of semi-continuous casting resulted in insufficient strength before and after heat treatment at 120 C. for 24 hours, at 140 C. for 3 hours, or at 160 C. for 15 minutes, thereby causing cut during the active material application step and detachment of the active material.