Failure mechanism of bulk silicon anode electrodes for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Silicon has been investigated extensively as a promising anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Understanding the failure mechanism of silicon-based anode electrodes for lithium-ion batteries is essential to solve the problem of low coulombic efficiency and capacity fading on cycling and also to further commercialize this very new energetic material in cells. To reach this goal, the structure changes of bulk silicon particles and electrode after cycling were studied using ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The SEM images indicated that the microstructural changes of the bulk silicon particles during cycling led to a layer rupture of the electrode and then the breakdown of the conductive network and the failure of the electrode. The result contributes to the basic understanding of the failure mechanism of a bulk silicon anode electrode for lithium-ion batteries.