Alumina-coated silicon-based nanowire arrays for high quality Li-ion battery anodes

Amongst other requirements, a good anode for Li-ion battery applications must exhibit dimensional stability upon Li insertion, as well as chemical inertness with respect to the electrolyte. This latter characteristic is usually provided by the so-called solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), a passivating film that is formed at the end of the first lithiation step, originating from the partial reduction of the electrolyte and Li salt. However, silicon, which exhibits the highest known capacity for Li alloying, possesses none of the above attributes when used as an anode material. Actually, the large volume expansion of Si upon alloying with Li induces a mechanical instability of the SEI film, which therefore fails to provide its protective role. In this paper, we have studied the effect of thin alumina deposits on top of Si-based nanowires. A thin alumina deposit will act as a substitute for the SEI, preventing electrolyte decomposition. We observe that even if alumina films crack during lithiation–delithiation steps of the Si-based nanowires, they still provide some kind of protection, prolonging the lifetime of the anode. Using Al2O3-coated Si-based nanowires, we have been able to obtain a lifetime of 1280 cycles when the capacity of the anode was limited to 1200 mA h g−1. We also show that uncoated Si nanowires degrade more rapidly when cycled under identical conditions.