Porous Silicon Nanotube Arrays as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries

Abstract

We report the electrochemical performance of Si nanotube vertical arrays possessing thin porous sidewalls for Li-ion batteries. Porous Si nanotubes were fabricated on stainless steel substrates using a sacrificial ZnO nanowire template method. These porous Si nanotubes are stable at multiple C-rates. A second discharge capacity of 3095 mAh g(-1) with a Coulombic efficiency of 63% is attained at a rate of C/20 and a stable gravimetric capacity of 1670 mAh g(-1) obtained after 30 cycles. The high capacity values are attributed to the large surface area offered by the porosity of the 3D nanostructures, thereby promoting lithium-ion storage according to a pseudocapacitive mechanism.

Self-supported hierarchical hollow-branch cobalt oxide nanorod arrays as binder-free electrodes for high-performance lithium ion batteries

“…Similar enhancement is also found in other systems (such as Fe 2 O 3 [14], and Si nanotube arrays [15]) obtained by ZnO nanorod templates. Our samples show better rate retention but lower capacity than the above Fe 2 O 3 and Si nanotube arrays [14,15]. Additionally, our results are higher than template-free synthesized SnO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 hollow spheres and particles [16].…”

Environmental Emissions from Chemical Etching Synthesis of Silicon Nanotube for Lithium Ion Battery Applications

“…The fading of capacity is attributed to the formation of a SEI (solid electrolyte interface) layer and the structural evolution during the initial charging/discharging cycles of silicon nanomaterials. In the literature, specific capacities of LIBs made of SiNTs are usually found in a range between 600 mAh/g and 1400 mAh/g depending on different process methods and morphologies [1,14,21]. Taking into account the simple etching process adopted in this study, the results of these SiNT LIBs are reasonable and acceptable.…”

“…Advanced energy storage systems are under rapid development as next-generation power systems for electric vehicles (EV), portable devices, and stationary energy resources [1,2]. Currently, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the primary power sources for these applications, due to their relatively high energy density and long cycle time compared with other battery technologies [2,3].…”

“…As a result, silicon is widely recognized as an ideal anode material for next-generation lithium ion battery technologies. However, the application of bulk silicon in lithium ion material suffers from large volume expansion (300~400%) during the lithiation/delithiation processes, which causes electrode cracking, electrical contact loss, voltage cutoff and rapid capacity fading [1,6,7].…”

“…It has been reported in the literature that silicon nanotube in LIB has obtained a high specific capacity of 1132 mAh/g, with a long cycling life of 400 charging/discharging cycles. There are a number of processing methods for fabricating silicon nanotubes in the literature, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [1,9], chemical etching [14], and liquid-synthetic reactions [15,16]. Among these, chemical etching is a simpler, more controllable and scalable process that can produce silicon nanotubes with a relative high yield.…”