Synthesis of embossing Si nanomesh and its application as an anode for lithium ion batteries

Abstract

Voids in nanostructured silicon (Si) anodes are believed to effectively mitigate the gradual performance degradation during repeated charge/discharge in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, we first demonstrate an embossing Si nanomesh structure bearing substantial voids in three dimensions for LIB applications. A solid alumina framework and a sacrificial layer of Ag serve as a template for embossing Si nanomesh structures. After complete dissolution of the alumina framework and the Ag layer, an embossing Si nanomesh exhibits highly ordered and high density nanoholes in an interconnected framework. The model Si nanomesh fabricated by our method has holes ∼70 nm in diameter, has ∼96 holes/μm2, and is ∼40 nm in thickness. We use this void-rich embossing Si nanomesh as a LIB anode, achieving significant enhancement in battery performance in terms of discharge capacity, cycling stability, and structural maintenance compared to a counterpart Si nanofilm without voids.