Abstract
Silicon’s potential as a lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode is hindered by the reactivity of the lithium silicide (LixSi) interface. This study introduces an innovative approach by alloying silicon with boron, creating boron/silicon (BSi) nanoparticles synthesized via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. These nanoparticles exhibit altered electronic structures as evidenced by optical, structural, and chemical analysis. Integrated into LIB anodes, BSi demonstrates outstanding cycle stability, surpassing 1000 lithiation and delithiation cycles with minimal capacity fade or impedance growth. Detailed electrochemical and microscopic characterization reveal very little SEI growth through 1000 cycles, which suggests that electrolyte degradation is virtually nonexistent. This unconventional strategy offers a promising avenue for high-performance LIB anodes with the potential for rapid scale-up, marking a significant advancement in silicon anode technology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2492-2499 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | ACS Energy Letters |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 14 2024 |
Funding
This work was authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office under the Silicon Consortium Project, directed by Brian Cunningham, and managed by Anthony Burrell. Part of the TEM work was carried out at the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a national scientific user facility sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at PNNL. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.