Cycle-dependent morphology and surface potential of germanium nanowire anode electrodes.

Germanium nanowire (GeNW) electrodes have shown great promise as high-power, fast-charging alternatives to silicon-based electrodes, owing to their vastly improved Li ion diffusion, electron mobility and ionic conductivity. Formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the anode surface is critical to electrode performance and stability but is not completely understood for NW anodes. Here, a systematic study characterizing pristine and cycled GeNWs in charged and discharged states with SEI layer present and removed is performed using Kelvin probe force microscopy in air.

Comparing the performance of single and multifrequency Kelvin probe force microscopy techniques in air and water.

In this paper, we derive and present quantitative expressions governing the performance of single and multifrequency Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) techniques in both air and water. Metrics such as minimum detectable contact potential difference, minimum required AC bias, and signal-to-noise ratio are compared and contrasted both off resonance and utilizing the first two eigenmodes of the cantilever. These comparisons allow the reader to quickly and quantitatively identify the parameters for the best performance for a given KPFM-based experiment in a given environment.