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Water-soluble-template-derived nanoscale silicon nanoflake and nano-rod morphologies: Stable architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes

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Abstract

Earth abundant and economical rock salt (NaCl) particles of different sizes (<3 μm and 5–20 μm) prepared by high energy mechanical milling were used as water-soluble templates for generation of Si with novel nanoscale architectures via low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). Si nanoflakes (SiNF) comprising largely amorphous Si (a-Si) with a small volume fraction of nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si), and Si nanorods (SiNR) composed of a larger volume fraction of crystalline Si (c-Si) and a small volume fraction of a-Si resulted from modification of the NaCl crystals. SiNF yielded first-cycle discharge and charge capacities of ∼2,830 and 2,175 mAh·g−1, respectively, at a current rate of 50 mA·g−1 with a first-cycle irreversible loss (FIR loss) of ∼15%–20%. SiNR displayed first-cycle discharge and charge capacities of ∼2,980 and ∼2,500 mAh·g−1, respectively, at a current rate of 50 mA·g−1 with an FIR loss of ∼12%–15%. However, at a current rate of 1 A·g−1, SiNF exhibited a stable discharge capacity of ∼810 mAh·g−1 at the end of 250 cycles with a fade rate of ∼0.11% loss per cycle, while SiNR showed a stable specific discharge capacity of ∼740 mAh·g−1 with a fade rate of ∼0.23% loss per cycle. The morphology of the nanostructures and compositions of the different phases/phase of Si influence the performance of SiNF and SiNR, making them attractive anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231, subcontract no. 6951369, under the Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies (BATT) program. The authors also acknowledge the National Science Foundation (Nos. NSF-CBET-0933141 and NSF-CBET-1511390) and partial support of the Ford Foundation. Financial assistances from the Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professorship funds and the Center for Complex Engineered Materials (CCEMM) for partial support of this research are also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Bharat Gattu & Prashant N. Kumta

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Prashant N. Kumta

  3. Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Prashanth Hanumantha Jampani, Moni Kanchan Datta, Ramalinga Kuruba & Prashant N. Kumta

  4. Center for Complex Engineered Multifunctional Materials (CCEMM), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Moni Kanchan Datta & Prashant N. Kumta

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  1. Bharat Gattu
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Correspondence to Prashant N. Kumta.

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Water-soluble-template-derived nanoscale silicon nanoflake and nano-rod morphologies: Stable architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes

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Gattu, B., Jampani, P.H., Datta, M.K. et al. Water-soluble-template-derived nanoscale silicon nanoflake and nano-rod morphologies: Stable architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes. Nano Res. 10, 4284–4297 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1707-z

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