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Nano Research 2017, 10(12): 4284-4297 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1707-z
Research Article | Issue | Published: 23 August 2017

Water-soluble-template-derived nanoscale silicon nanoflake and nano-rod morphologies: Stable architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes

Show Author's Information Bharat Gattu1,  Prashanth Hanumantha Jampani2,  Moni Kanchan Datta2,3,  Ramalinga Kuruba2,  Prashant N. Kumta1,2,3,4( )
Department of Chemical and Petroleum EngineeringUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials ScienceUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Department of BioengineeringUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Center for Complex Engineered Multifunctional Materials (CCEMM)University of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Keywords:
silicon, nanoflakes, nanorods, water-soluble template, NaCl
Cite this article:
Gattu B, Jampani PH, Datta MK, et al. Water-soluble-template-derived nanoscale silicon nanoflake and nano-rod morphologies: Stable architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes. Nano Research, 2017, 10(12): 4284-4297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1707-z
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Earth abundant and economical rock salt (NaCl) particles of different sizes (< 3 μm and 5–20 μm) prepared by high energy mechanical milling were used as water-soluble templates for generation of Si with novel nanoscale architectures via low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). Si nanoflakes (SiNF) comprising largely amorphous Si (a-Si) with a small volume fraction of nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si), and Si nanorods (SiNR) composed of a larger volume fraction of crystalline Si (c-Si) and a small volume fraction of a-Si resulted from modification of the NaCl crystals. SiNF yielded first-cycle discharge and charge capacities of ~2, 830 and 2, 175 mAh·g–1, respectively, at a current rate of 50 mA·g–1 with a first-cycle irreversible loss (FIR loss) of ~15%–20%. SiNR displayed first-cycle discharge and charge capacities of ~2, 980 and ~2, 500 mAh·g–1, respectively, at a current rate of 50 mA·g–1 with an FIR loss of ~12%–15%. However, at a current rate of 1 A·g–1, SiNF exhibited a stable discharge capacity of ~810 mAh·g–1 at the end of 250 cycles with a fade rate of ~0.11% loss per cycle, while SiNR showed a stable specific discharge capacity of ~740 mAh·g–1 with a fade rate of ~0.23% loss per cycle. The morphology of the nanostructures and compositions of the different phases/phase of Si influence the performance of SiNF and SiNR, making them attractive anodes for lithium-ion batteries.


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About this article

Water-soluble-template-derived nanoscale silicon nanoflake and nano-rod morphologies: Stable architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes

Show Author's information Bharat Gattu1, Prashanth Hanumantha Jampani2, Moni Kanchan Datta2,3, Ramalinga Kuruba2, Prashant N. Kumta1,2,3,4( )
Department of Chemical and Petroleum EngineeringUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials ScienceUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Department of BioengineeringUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA
Center for Complex Engineered Multifunctional Materials (CCEMM)University of PittsburghPittsburghPA15261USA

Abstract

Earth abundant and economical rock salt (NaCl) particles of different sizes (< 3 μm and 5–20 μm) prepared by high energy mechanical milling were used as water-soluble templates for generation of Si with novel nanoscale architectures via low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). Si nanoflakes (SiNF) comprising largely amorphous Si (a-Si) with a small volume fraction of nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si), and Si nanorods (SiNR) composed of a larger volume fraction of crystalline Si (c-Si) and a small volume fraction of a-Si resulted from modification of the NaCl crystals. SiNF yielded first-cycle discharge and charge capacities of ~2, 830 and 2, 175 mAh·g–1, respectively, at a current rate of 50 mA·g–1 with a first-cycle irreversible loss (FIR loss) of ~15%–20%. SiNR displayed first-cycle discharge and charge capacities of ~2, 980 and ~2, 500 mAh·g–1, respectively, at a current rate of 50 mA·g–1 with an FIR loss of ~12%–15%. However, at a current rate of 1 A·g–1, SiNF exhibited a stable discharge capacity of ~810 mAh·g–1 at the end of 250 cycles with a fade rate of ~0.11% loss per cycle, while SiNR showed a stable specific discharge capacity of ~740 mAh·g–1 with a fade rate of ~0.23% loss per cycle. The morphology of the nanostructures and compositions of the different phases/phase of Si influence the performance of SiNF and SiNR, making them attractive anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

Keywords: silicon, nanoflakes, nanorods, water-soluble template, NaCl

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 08 January 2017
Revised: 01 June 2017
Accepted: 11 June 2017
Published: 23 August 2017
Issue date: December 2017

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer‐Verlag GmbH Germany 2017

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231, subcontract no. 6951369, under the Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies (BATT) program. The authors also acknowledge the National Science Foundation (Nos. NSF-CBET-0933141 and NSF-CBET-1511390) and partial support of the Ford Foundation. Financial assistances from the Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professorship funds and the Center for Complex Engineered Materials (CCEMM) for partial support of this research are also acknowledged.

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