Single nanowire electrode electrochemistry of silicon anode by in situ atomic force microscopy: solid electrolyte
Xing-Rui Liu1, Xin Deng, Ran-Ran Liu
1CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, 100190, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have attracted great attention as promising anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) on account of their high capacity and improved cyclability compared with bulk silicon. The interface behavior, especially the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), plays a significant role in the performance and stability of the electrodes. We report herein an in situ single nanowire atomic force microscopy (AFM) method to investigate the interface electrochemistry of silicon nanowire (SiNW) electrode. The morphology and Young's modulus of the individual SiNW anode surface during the SEI growth were quantitatively tracked. Three distinct stages of the SEI formation on the SiNW anode were observed. On the basis of the potential-dependent morphology and Young's modulus evolution of SEI, a mixture-packing structural model was proposed for the SEI film on SiNW anode.
