TEM in situ lithiation of tin nanoneedles for battery applications

Materials such as tin (Sn) and silicon that alloy with lithium (Li) have attracted renewed interest as anode materials in Li-ion batteries. Although their superior capacity to graphite and other intercalation materials has been known for decades, their mechanical instability due to extreme volume ch...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials science 2016-01, Vol.51 (1), p.589-602
Main Authors: Janish, Matthew T, Mackay, David T, Liu, Yang, Jungjohann, Katherine L, Carter, C. Barry, Norton, M. Grant
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
50th Anniversary
Alloys
Anodes
Batteries
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Classical Mechanics
coatings
Crystallography and Scattering Methods
Electrode materials
Electrodes
ENERGY STORAGE
graphene
in-situ TEM
lithiation
lithium
Lithium-ion batteries
materials
Materials Science
microstructure
nanomaterials
nanoneedles
NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
Needles
Polymer Sciences
Rechargeable batteries
silicon
Single crystals
Solid Mechanics
Stability
temperature
Tin
Transmission electron microscopes
Transmission electron microscopy
Viability
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Summary:Materials such as tin (Sn) and silicon that alloy with lithium (Li) have attracted renewed interest as anode materials in Li-ion batteries. Although their superior capacity to graphite and other intercalation materials has been known for decades, their mechanical instability due to extreme volume changes during cycling has traditionally limited their commercial viability. This limitation is changing as processes emerge that produce nanostructured electrodes. The nanostructures can accommodate the repeated expansion and contraction as Li is inserted and removed without failing mechanically. Recently, one such nano-manufacturing process, which is capable of depositing coatings of Sn “nanoneedles” at low temperature with no template and at industrial scales, has been described. The present work is concerned with observations of the lithiation and delithiation behavior of these Sn nanoneedles during in situ experiments in the transmission electron microscope, along with a brief review of how in situ TEM experiments have been used to study the lithiation of Li-alloying materials. Individual needles are successfully lithiated and delithiated in solid-state half-cells against a Li-metal counter-electrode. The microstructural evolution of the needles is discussed, including the transformation of one needle from single-crystal Sn to polycrystalline Sn–Li and back to single-crystal Sn.
ISSN:0022-2461
1573-4803
DOI:10.1007/s10853-015-9318-0