In Situ Formation of LiF-Rich Carbon Interphase on Silicon Particles for Cycle-Stable Battery Anodes

Silicon(Si)is a potential high-capacity anode material for the next-generation lithium-ion battery with high energy density.However,Si anodes suff er from severe interfacial chemistry issues,such as side reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface,leading to poor electrochemical cycling stability.Herein,we demonstrate the fabrication of a conformal fl uorine-containing carbon(FC)layer on Si particles(Si-FC)and its in situ electrochemical conversion into a LiF-rich carbon layer above 1.5 V(vs.Li^(+)/Li).The as-formed LiF-rich carbon layer not only isolates the active Si and electrolytes,leading to the suppression of side reactions,but also induces the formation of a robust solid-electrolyte interface(SEI),leading to the stable interfacial chemistry of as-designed Si-FC particles.The Si-FC electrode has a high initial Coulombic effi ciency(CE)of 84.8%and a high reversible capacity of 1450 mAh/g at 0.4 C(1000 mA/g)for 300 cycles.In addition,a hybrid electrode consisting of 85 wt%graphite and 15 wt%Si-FC,and mass 2.3 mg/cm^(2) loading delivers a high areal capacity of 2.0 mAh/cm^(2) and a high-capacity retention of 93.2%after 100 cycles,showing the prospects for practical use.

Stress-Regulation Design of Lithium Alloy Electrode toward Stable Battery Cycling

Metallic tin(Sn)foil is a promising candidate anode for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)due to its metallurgical processability and high capacity.However,it suffers low initial Coulombic efficiency and inferior cycling stability due to its uneven alloying/dealloying reactions,large volume change and stress,and fast electrode structural degradation.Herein,we report an undulating LiSn electrode fabricated by a scalable two-step procedure involving mechanical lithography and chemical prelithiation of Sn foil.With the combination of experimental measurements and chemo-mechanical simulations,it was revealed the obtained undulating LiSn/Sn electrode could ensure better mechanical stability due to the pre-swelling state from Sn to Li x Sn and undulating structure of lithography in comparison with plane Sn,homogenize the electrochemical alloying/dealloying reactions due to the activated surface materials,and compensate Li loss during cycling due to the introduction of excess Li from Li_(x)Sn,thus enabling enhanced electrochemical performance.Symmetric cells consisting of undulating LiSn/Sn electrode with an active thickness of∼5 um displayed stable cycling over 1000 h at 1 mA cm^(-2) and 1 mAh cm^(-2) with a low average overpotential of<15 mV.When paired with commercial LiNi_(0.6)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.2)O_(2)(NCM622)cathode with high mass loading of 15.8 mg cm^(-2),the full cell demonstrated a high capacity of 2.4 mAh cm^(-2) and outstanding cycling stability with 84.9% capacity retention at 0.5 C after 100 cycles.This work presents an advanced LiSn electrode with stress-regulation design toward high-performance LIBs,and sheds light on the rational electrode design and processing of other high-capacity lithium alloy anodes.

Circumventing chemo-mechanical failure of Sn foil battery anode by grain refinement and elaborate porosity design

Tin (Sn) metal foil is a promising anode for next-generation high-energy–density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high capacity and easy processibility. However, the pristine Sn foil anode suffers nonuniform alloying/dealloying reaction with lithium (Li) and huge volume variation, leading to electrode pulverization and inferior electrochemical performance. Herein, we proposed that reduced grain size and elaborate porosity design of Sn foil can circumvent the nonuniform alloy reaction and buffer the volume change during the lithiation/delithiation cycling. Experimentally, we designed a three-dimensional interconnected porous Sn (3DIP-Sn) foil by a facile chemical alloying/dealloying approach, which showed improved electrochemical performance. The enhanced structure stability of the as-fabricated 3DIP-Sn foil was verified by chemo-mechanical simulations and experimental investigation. As expected, the 3DIP-Sn foil anode revealed a long cycle lifespan of 4400 h at 0.5 mA cm^(−2) and 1 mAh cm^(−2) in Sn||Li half cells. A 3DIP-Sn||LiFePO_(4) full cell with LiFePO_(4) loading of 7.1 mg cm^(−2) exhibited stable cycling for 500 cycles with 80% capacity retention at 70 mA g^(−1). Pairing with high-loading commercial LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O_(2) (NCM622, 18.4 mg cm^(−2)) cathode, a 3DIP-Sn||NCM622 full cell delivered a high reversible capacity of 3.2 mAh cm^(−2). These results demonstrated the important role of regulating the uniform alloying/dealloying reaction and circumventing the localized strain/stress in improving the electrochemical performance of Sn foil anodes for advanced LIBs.