Issue 32, 2013
From the journal:

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

ALD TiO2 coated silicon nanowires for lithium ion battery anodes with enhanced cycling stability and coulombic efficiency†

Elmira Memarzadeh Lotfabad,a   Peter Kalisvaart,*a   Kai Cui,b   Alireza Kohandehghan,a   Martin Kupsta,b   Brian Olsena  and  David Mitlin*ab  

* Corresponding authors

a University of Alberta Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, 9107 116th Street, T6G 2V4, Edmonton, AB, Canada
E-mail: pkalisvaart@gmail.com
Tel: +1-780-850-2678

b National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT), NRC, 11421 Saskatchewan Dr., Edmonton, AB, Canada
E-mail: dmitlin@ualberta.ca
Tel: +1-780-492-1542

Abstract

We demonstrate that silicon nanowire (SiNW) Li-ion battery anodes that are conformally coated with TiO2 using atomic layer deposition (ALD) show a remarkable performance improvement. The coulombic efficiency is increased to ∼99%, among the highest ever reported for SiNWs, as compared to 95% for the baseline uncoated samples. The capacity retention after 100 cycles for the nanocomposite is twice as high as that of the baseline at 0.1 C (60% vs. 30%), and more than three times higher at 5 C (34% vs. 10%). We also demonstrate that the microstructure of the coatings is critically important for achieving this effect. Titanium dioxide coatings with an as-deposited anatase structure are nowhere near as effective as amorphous ones, the latter proving much more resistant to delamination from the SiNW core. We use TEM to demonstrate that upon lithiation the amorphous coating develops a highly dispersed nanostructure comprised of crystalline LiTiO2 and a secondary amorphous phase. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) combined with bulk and surface analytical techniques are employed to highlight the passivating effect of TiO2, which results in significantly fewer cycling-induced electrolyte decomposition products as compared to the bare nanowires.

Graphical abstract: ALD TiO2 coated silicon nanowires for lithium ion battery anodes with enhanced cycling stability and coulombic efficiency

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3CP52485J
Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Jun 2013
Accepted
17 Jun 2013
First published
18 Jun 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 13646-13657

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ALD TiO2 coated silicon nanowires for lithium ion battery anodes with enhanced cycling stability and coulombic efficiency

E. Memarzadeh Lotfabad, P. Kalisvaart, K. Cui, A. Kohandehghan, M. Kupsta, B. Olsen and D. Mitlin, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 13646 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP52485J

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