Electron-rich driven electrochemical solid-state amorphization in Li-Si alloys

Nano Lett. 2013 Sep 11;13(9):4511-6. doi: 10.1021/nl402429a. Epub 2013 Aug 20.

Abstract

The physical and chemical behaviors of materials used in energy storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), are mainly controlled by an electrochemical process, which normally involves insertion/extraction of ions into/from a host lattice with a concurrent flow of electrons to compensate charge balance. The fundamental physics and chemistry governing the behavior of materials in response to the ions insertion/extraction is not known. Herein, a combination of in situ lithiation experiments and large-scale ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are performed to explore the mechanisms of the electrochemically driven solid-state amorphization in Li-Si systems. We find that local electron-rich condition governs the electrochemically driven solid-state amorphization of Li-Si alloys. This discovery provides the fundamental explanation of why lithium insertion in semiconductor and insulators leads to amorphization, whereas in metals, it leads to a crystalline alloy. The present work correlates electrochemically driven reactions with ion insertion, electron transfer, lattice stability, and phase equilibrium.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alloys
  • Electric Power Supplies*
  • Electrons
  • Ions
  • Lithium / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / chemistry
  • Phase Transition
  • Silicon / chemistry*

Substances

  • Alloys
  • Ions
  • Lithium
  • Silicon