Synthesis of Silicon Nano-particles for Thin Film Electrodes Preparation

Abstract

AbstractThe present work concerns novel approaches to fabricate silicon-based electrodes. In this study silicon nano-particles are synthesized via two aerosol routes: Laser assisted Chemical Vapour Pyrolysis (LaCVP) and Spark Discharge Generation (SDG). These two techniques allow the generation of uniformly sized particles, with a good control over the composition and the range of sizes. Herein, particles with size ranging from 2 to 70 nm were obtained. Starting from these nano-particles, nano-structured porous thin films are produced either by electrospraying a polymeric solution in which LaCVP-produced particles were previously dispersed, or by inertial impacting the SDG-produced particles directly from gas phase onto a substrate. The Electro- Spray (ES) is used to produce composite films for Li-ion battery applications, whereas the Inertial Impaction (II) is used to produce pure silicon films for other purposes (i.e.: sensors).