Critical silicon-anode size for averting lithiation-induced mechanical failure of lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Silicon nanostructures have been employed as the anodes of lithium-ion batteries to mitigate mechanical and chemical degradation. Conditions for averting fracture have been identified in terms of the Si critical size and its state of charge. Strong size dependencies were observed, and the critical sizes of fracture for different shapes of Si have been found to be: y90 nm for nanoparticles, y70 nm for nanowires, and y33 nm for nanofilms, below which the silicon nanostructures remain undamaged upon lithiation.

Recent Progress in Synthesis and Application of Low-Dimensional Silicon Based Anode Material for Lithium Ion Battery

“…Ma et al reported the threshold size of 33 nm for silicon thin films, below which the nanostructures of silicon would avoid fractures during lithiation [66]. A critical size of 300 nm was proposed by Graetz et al and high reversible capacity as well as improved electrochemical performance was obtained [114].…”

“…Ma et al proposed a critical size for silicon nanoparticles of ∼90 nm based on the order-length-strength (BOLS) correlation mechanism [64,65], below which the fracture would not be formed and above which the crack would occur during lithiation [66]. Kim et al proposed a work comparing different small silicon nanoparticles.…”

“…Ma et al reported a critical size of ∼70 nm for the fracture of silicon nanowires based on the BOLS correlation mechanism [66]. The silicon nanowires sized below ∼70 nm could avoid fractures and cracks during lithiation.…”

Failure Prediction of High-Capacity Electrode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…It is shown that nanostructure-based battery electrodes such as nanofilms, nanowires and nanoparticles, can alleviate diffusion-induced stress and improve their cycle life through structural optimization and geometric restriction. [16][17][18][19][20] For example, a facile and scalable in situ chemical vapor deposition technique was developed for one-step fabrication of three-dimensional porous networks anchored with Sn nanoparticles (5-30 nm) and encapsulated with graphene shells of about 1 nm as a superior LIB anode. 21 However, the irreversible capacity loss caused by stress damage during the first cycle is still serious.…”

Capacity Fade Study of LiCo0.4Al0.1Mn1.5O4 Cathode Material for Li-Ion Batteries Cycled at Low Discharge Rates

“…For this purposes, both anode and cathode materials are being modified to improve their respective performances. For instance, different cathode materials based on LiFePO 4 and LiMn 2 O 4 structures with various dopants have been studied [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] as alternatives to LiCoO 2 . Among these, LiMn 2 O 4 based materials find special attention due to the abundance, cost and environmental compatibility of manganese [11,12].…”