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Title: Mechanically and Chemically Robust Sandwich-Structured C@Si@C Nanotube Array Li-Ion Battery Anodes

Abstract

Stability and high energy densities are essential qualities for emerging battery electrodes. Because of its high specific capacity, silicon has been considered a promising anode candidate. However, the several-fold volume changes during lithiation and delithiation leads to fractures and continuous formation of an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, resulting in rapid capacity decay. Here, we present a carbon–silicon–carbon (C@Si@C) nanotube sandwich structure that addresses the mechanical and chemical stability issues commonly associated with Si anodes. The C@Si@C nanotube array exhibits a capacity of ~2200 mAh g–1 (~750 mAh cm–3), which significantly exceeds that of a commercial graphite anode, and a nearly constant Coulombic efficiency of ~98% over 60 cycles. In addition, the C@Si@C nanotube array gives much better capacity and structure stability compared to the Si nanotubes without carbon coatings, the ZnO@C@Si@C nanorods, a Si thin film on Ni foam, and C@Si and Si@C nanotubes. In situ SEM during cycling shows that the tubes expand both inward and outward upon lithiation, as well as elongate, and then revert back to their initial size and shape after delithiation, suggesting stability during volume changes. The mechanical modeling indicates the overall plastic strain in a nanotube is much less than in a nanorod,more » which may significantly reduce low-cycle fatigue. Furthermore, the sandwich-structured nanotube design is quite general, and may serve as a guide for many emerging anode and cathode systems.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2]
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Anhui (China)
  2. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Chinese Academy of Sciences, Anhui (China); Samsung Advanced Inst. of Technology, Suwon (South Korea)
  3. Samsung Advanced Inst. of Technology, Suwon (South Korea)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1875544
Grant/Contract Number:  
FG02-07ER46471
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
ACS Nano
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 1936-0851
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
25 ENERGY STORAGE; Li-ion battery; nanotube; silicon anode; capacity; plastic strain; carbon nanotubes; lithiation; nanorods; silicon

Citation Formats

Liu, Jinyun, Li, Nan, Goodman, Matthew D., Zhang, Hui Gang, Epstein, Eric S., Huang, Bo, Pan, Zeng, Kim, Jinwoo, Choi, Jun Hee, Huang, Xingjiu, Liu, Jinhuai, Hsia, K. Jimmy, Dillon, Shen J., and Braun, Paul V. Mechanically and Chemically Robust Sandwich-Structured C@Si@C Nanotube Array Li-Ion Battery Anodes. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1021/nn507003z.
Liu, Jinyun, Li, Nan, Goodman, Matthew D., Zhang, Hui Gang, Epstein, Eric S., Huang, Bo, Pan, Zeng, Kim, Jinwoo, Choi, Jun Hee, Huang, Xingjiu, Liu, Jinhuai, Hsia, K. Jimmy, Dillon, Shen J., & Braun, Paul V. Mechanically and Chemically Robust Sandwich-Structured C@Si@C Nanotube Array Li-Ion Battery Anodes. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn507003z
Liu, Jinyun, Li, Nan, Goodman, Matthew D., Zhang, Hui Gang, Epstein, Eric S., Huang, Bo, Pan, Zeng, Kim, Jinwoo, Choi, Jun Hee, Huang, Xingjiu, Liu, Jinhuai, Hsia, K. Jimmy, Dillon, Shen J., and Braun, Paul V. Sat . "Mechanically and Chemically Robust Sandwich-Structured C@Si@C Nanotube Array Li-Ion Battery Anodes". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn507003z. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1875544.
@article{osti_1875544,
title = {Mechanically and Chemically Robust Sandwich-Structured C@Si@C Nanotube Array Li-Ion Battery Anodes},
author = {Liu, Jinyun and Li, Nan and Goodman, Matthew D. and Zhang, Hui Gang and Epstein, Eric S. and Huang, Bo and Pan, Zeng and Kim, Jinwoo and Choi, Jun Hee and Huang, Xingjiu and Liu, Jinhuai and Hsia, K. Jimmy and Dillon, Shen J. and Braun, Paul V.},
abstractNote = {Stability and high energy densities are essential qualities for emerging battery electrodes. Because of its high specific capacity, silicon has been considered a promising anode candidate. However, the several-fold volume changes during lithiation and delithiation leads to fractures and continuous formation of an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, resulting in rapid capacity decay. Here, we present a carbon–silicon–carbon (C@Si@C) nanotube sandwich structure that addresses the mechanical and chemical stability issues commonly associated with Si anodes. The C@Si@C nanotube array exhibits a capacity of ~2200 mAh g–1 (~750 mAh cm–3), which significantly exceeds that of a commercial graphite anode, and a nearly constant Coulombic efficiency of ~98% over 60 cycles. In addition, the C@Si@C nanotube array gives much better capacity and structure stability compared to the Si nanotubes without carbon coatings, the ZnO@C@Si@C nanorods, a Si thin film on Ni foam, and C@Si and Si@C nanotubes. In situ SEM during cycling shows that the tubes expand both inward and outward upon lithiation, as well as elongate, and then revert back to their initial size and shape after delithiation, suggesting stability during volume changes. The mechanical modeling indicates the overall plastic strain in a nanotube is much less than in a nanorod, which may significantly reduce low-cycle fatigue. Furthermore, the sandwich-structured nanotube design is quite general, and may serve as a guide for many emerging anode and cathode systems.},
doi = {10.1021/nn507003z},
journal = {ACS Nano},
number = 2,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}

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