Silicon clathrates contain cage-like structures that can encapsulate various guest atoms or molecules. An electrochemical evaluation of type I silicon clathrates based on BaAl Si as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries is presented here. Postcycling characterization with nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray diffraction shows no discernible structural or volume changes even after electrochemical insertion of 44 Li (≈1 Li/Si) into the clathrate structure. The observed properties are in stark contrast with lithiation of other silicon anodes, which become amorphous and suffer from large volume changes. The electrochemical reactions are proposed to occur as single phase reactions at approximately 0.2 and 0.4 V versus Li/Li during lithiation and delithiation, respectively, distinct from diamond cubic or amorphous silicon anodes. Reversible capacities as high as 499 mAh g- at a 5 mA g rate were observed for silicon clathrate with composition BaAlSi, corresponding to ≈1.18 Li/Si. These results show that silicon clathrates could be promising durable anodes for lithium-ion batteries.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/advs.201500057 | DOI Listing |
This paper explores the process of forming arrays of vertically oriented carbon nanotubes (CNTs) localized on metal electrodes using thin porous anodic alumina (PAA) on a solid substrate. On a silicon substrate, a titanium film served as the electrode layer, and an aluminium film served as the base layer in the initial film structure. A PAA template was formed from the Al film using two-step electrochemical anodizing.
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January 2025
College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361102, China.
Silicon is widely recognized as a promising anode material for all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) due to exceptional specific capacity, abundant availability, and environmental sustainability. However, the considerable volume expansion and particle fragmentation of Si during cycling lead to significant performance degradation, limiting its practical application. Herein, the development of a pre-lithiated Si-based composite anode (c-LiSi) is presented, designed to address the key challenges faced by Si-based anodes, namely severe volume changes and low electrochemical stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, 110 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.
Hydrogen bubble adhesion to the electrode presents a major obstacle for green hydrogen generation via the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) as it would induce undesired overpotential and undermine the reaction efficiency by reducing reaction area, increasing transport resistance, and creating an undesired ion concentration gradient. While electrodes with aerophobic/hydrophilic surfaces have been developed to facilitate bubble detachment, they primarily rely on micro- and nanostructured catalyst surfaces to enhance buoyance-induced bubble departure. Here, we demonstrate that introducing nonreactive yet more hydrophilic surfaces can promote coalescence-induced bubble departure, thereby significantly reducing the transport overpotential and improving HER performance.
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January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering and Conn Center for Renewable Energy ResearchUniversity of Louisville, 132 Eastern Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, United States.
We report a silicon anode for lithium-ion batteries consisting of a layer of 100% nanotubes directly bonded to copper foil. The process involved silicon deposition on a sacrificial zinc oxide nanorod film and removal of zinc oxide to produce a nanotube film directly on thin copper foils. The thickness of resulting films ranged from 9 to 20 μm with Si nanotubes having diameters of 200-400 nm and lengths of 2-10 μm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Green and High-end Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources and Chemistry of Salt Lakes, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China. Electronic address:
The yolk-shell architecture offers a promising solution to the challenges of silicon (Si) anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), particularly in addressing the significant volume changes that occur during charge and discharge cycles. However, traditional construction methods often rely on sacrificial templates and acid or alkali etching, which limits industrial applicability. In this work, we successfully constructed a silicon/carbon (Si/C) composite with a multicore yolk-shell structure using scalable spray drying technology and in-situ growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) at room temperature.
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