Abstract
Silicon (Si) has been widely used in advanced energy technologies including solar cells and secondary batteries because of its unique properties. However, up to now, the highest conversion efficiency of solar cells for silicon is just over 26%. Furthermore, during charge–discharge cycles, the Si voluminal expansion has been considered seriously, which greatly reduces the cycle life of the solar cell. Therefore, many research efforts have been focusing on the development of new phase, nanostructure, and pathways for improving the conversion efficiency and the cycle life of Si-based energy devices. In this review article, advanced methods, such as in situ transmission electron microscope nanomechanical testing, nanoscratching, nanoindentation, scratching at the nanoscale, and micrometer examination of the deformation-induced nanostructure of Si, are first presented. Subsequently, deformation-induced nanostructures in Si are proposed, in which the nanostructures are fabricated by a developed setup and novel diamond wheels. A new phase and a pathway in Si are manufactured and demonstrated by this setup. Finally, the perspectives and challenges of deformation-induced Si nanostructures for future developments are discussed.
Highlights
Silicon is an excellent semiconductor material1,2 with unique electronic,3 electric-mechanical,4 thermo-electric,5 optical,6,7 and electro-optic8,9 properties, which dominates consumer electronics,10,11 microelectronic industry,8 high-performance nanodevices,12 and photovoltaic industry.13–15 Owing to its widely significant applications, Si has attracted much attention in solar cell and lithium ion battery industries.The theoretical charge capacity of Si is nearly 4000 mA h/g– 4200 mA h/g,14,16,17 among the highest in the known anode materials
Si is promising in the application of anode materials in solar cells and lithium ion batteries
The conversion efficiency of the single crystal Si solar cell is about 25.8%,20 and a thin film Si solar cell with heterojunction interdigitated back contact exhibits a conversion efficiency over 26%,21,22 which is the new record
Summary
Silicon is an excellent semiconductor material with unique electronic, electric-mechanical, thermo-electric, optical, and electro-optic properties, which dominates consumer electronics, microelectronic industry, high-performance nanodevices, and photovoltaic industry. Owing to its widely significant applications, Si has attracted much attention in solar cell and lithium ion battery industries. Zhang and Gao et al found an amorphous layer and a dislocation layer in the cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of crystalline Si wafer after grinding and polishing.. Zhang and Gao et al found an amorphous layer and a dislocation layer in the cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of crystalline Si wafer after grinding and polishing.32,33 They did not do further research for the phase transformation of Si under different working conditions. There is a great potential for researching the phase transformation of Si after machining Another serious problem with Si-based energy devices is the large volume expansion of Si with charge–discharge cycles, which can induce. In order to improve the conversion efficiency of the Si solar cell and the cycle life, the deformation-induced nanostructures in Si have received much attention from researchers. The perspectives and challenges of deformation-induced Si nanostructures for future developments are discussed
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