Amorphous silicon is a promising high-capacity anode material for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. However, the enormous volume expansion of the active material during lithiation up to 400% (V/V 0) is held responsible for capacity fading during cycling. In this study we measured continuously the volume modifications taking place during galvanostatic lithiation of amorphous silicon thin film electrodes by in-operando neutron reflectometry experiments. The results indicate (after initial effects) a linear increase in volume as a function of lithiation time and lithium content independent of current density and initial film thickness. The experimental results are in agreement with recent atomistic calculations.

Neutron reflectometry is used to study in situ the intercalation of lithium into amorphous silicon electrodes. The experiments are done using a closed three-electrode electrochemical cell setup. As a working electrode, an about 40 nm thick amorphous silicon layer is used that is deposited on a 1 cm thick quartz substrate coated with palladium as a current collector. The counter electrode and the reference electrode are made of lithium metal. Propylene carbonate with 1 M LiClO4 is used as an electrolyte. The utility of the cell is demonstrated during neutron reflectometry measurements where Li is intercalated at a constant current of 100 μA (7.8 μA cm(-2)) for different time steps. The results show (a) that the change in Li content in amorphous silicon and the corresponding volume expansion can be monitored, (b) that the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase becomes visible and (c) that an irreversible capacity loss is present.

We present an operando neutron reflectometry study on the electrochemical incorporation of lithium into crystalline silicon for battery applications. Neutron reflectivity is measured from the ⟨100⟩ surface of a silicon single crystal which is used as a negative electrode in an electrochemical cell. The strong scattering contrast between Si and Li due to the negative scattering length of Li leads to a precise depth profile of Li within the Si anode as a function of time. The operando cell can be used to study the uptake and the release of Li over several cycles. Lithiation starts with the formation of a lithium enrichment zone during the first charge step. The uptake of Li can be divided into a highly lithiated zone at the surface (skin region) (x ∼ 2.5 in LixSi) and a much less lithiated zone deep into the crystal (growth region) (x ∼ 0.1 in LixSi). The total depth of penetration was less than 100 nm in all experiments. The thickness of the highly lithiated zone is the same for the first and second cycle, whereas the thickness of the less lithiated zone is larger for the second lithiation. A surface layer of lithium (x ∼ 1.1) remains in the silicon electrode after delithiation. Moreover, a solid electrolyte interface is formed and dissolved during the entire cycling. The operando analysis presented here demonstrates that neutron reflectivity allows the tracking of the kinetics of lithiation and delithiation of silicon with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Operando neutron reflectometry measurements were carried out to study the insertion of lithium into amorphous silicon film electrodes during cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments at a scan rate of 0.01 mV s-1. The experiments allow mapping of regions where significant amounts of Li are incorporated/released from the electrode and correlation of the results to modifications of characteristic peaks in the CV curve. High volume changes up to 390% accompanied by corresponding modifications of the neutron scattering length density (which is a measure of the average Li fraction present in the electrode) are observed during electrochemical cycling for potentials below 0.3 V (lithiation) and above 0.2 V (delithiation), leading to a hysteretic behaviour. This is attributed to result from mechanical stress as suggested in the literature. Formation and modification of a surface layer associated with the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) were observed during cycling. Within the first lithiation cycle the SEI grows to 120 Å for potentials below 0.5 V. Afterwards a reversible and stable modification of the SEI between 70 Å (delithiated state) and 120 Å (lithiated state) takes place.

Amorphous silicon is a high-capacity negative electrode material for use in advanced lithium-ion batteries. We investigated the mechanism of Li incorporation into and removal from this material during electrochemical lithiation and delithiation using a combination of in operando neutron reflectometry and ex situ secondary ion mass spectrometry. The results indicate that a heterogeneous lithiation mechanism is present for the first cycle and also for subsequent cycles during lithiation and delithiation, where a highly lithiated phase penetrates the silicon electrode. During the first lithiation half-cycle, a two-step process takes place, which is not present for delithiation and higher cycles. In the first step, a Li-poor phase penetrates the silicon electrode leading to about 10% of maximum capacity. Afterward, during the second step, a Li-rich phase moves into the electrode leading to complete lithiation in a slower process. The different phases are separated by a relatively sharp interface of only several nanometers. The Li-poor phase extended over the entire electrode is still present after delithiation in the form of irreversibly trapped Li.