Direct Synthesis of Alloyed Si1-xGex Nanowires for Performance-Tunable Lithium Ion Battery Anodes

Killian Stokes; Hugh Geaney; Grace Flynn; Martin Sheehan; Tadhg Kennedy; Kevin M Ryan

doi:10.1021/acsnano.7b04523

Direct Synthesis of Alloyed Si_1-xGe_x Nanowires for Performance-Tunable Lithium Ion Battery Anodes

ACS Nano. 2017 Oct 24;11(10):10088-10096. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.7b04523. Epub 2017 Sep 18.

Authors

Killian Stokes¹, Hugh Geaney¹, Grace Flynn¹, Martin Sheehan¹, Tadhg Kennedy¹, Kevin M Ryan¹

Affiliation

¹ Bernal Institute and Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Limerick , Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland.

PMID: 28902493
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b04523

Abstract

Here we report the formation of high capacity Li-ion battery anodes from Si_1-xGe_x alloy nanowire arrays that are grown directly on stainless steel current collectors, in a single-step synthesis. The direct formation of these Si_1-xGe_x nanowires (ranging from Si_0.20Ge_0.80 to Si_0.67Ge_0.33) represents a simple and efficient processing route for the production of Li-ion battery anodes possessing the benefits of both Si (high capacity) and Ge (improved rate performance and capacity retention). The nanowires were characterized through SEM, TEM, XRD and ex situ HRSEM/HRTEM. Electrochemical analysis was conducted on these nanowires, in half-cell configurations, with capacities of up to 1360 mAh/g (Si_0.67Ge_0.33) sustained after 250 cycles and in full cells, against a commercial cathode, where capacities up to 1364 mAh/g (Si_0.67Ge_0.33) were retained after 100 cycles.

Keywords: Si1−xGex nanowires; alloy; ex situ; full-cell; lithium-ion battery.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't