N-Type Doped Silicon Thin Film on a Porous Cu Current Collector as the Negative Electrode for Li-Ion Batteries

This work reports the preparation of a three-dimensional Si thin film negative electrode employing a porous Cu current collector. A previously reported copper etching procedure was modified to develop the porous structures inside a 9 μm thick copper foil. Magnetron sputtering was used for the deposition of an n-type doped 400 nm thick amorphous Si thin film. Electrochemical cycling of the prepared anode confirmed the effectiveness of utilizing the approach. The designed Si thin film electrode retained a capacity of around 67 μAh cm^-2 (1675 mAh g^-1) in 100^th cycle. The improved electrochemical performance resulted in an enhancement of both areal capacity and capacity retention in contrast with flat and rough current collectors that were prepared for comparison.