Electrochemical Insertion of Lithium into Silicon Electrodes Prepared by Electron-Beam Deposition

Thin-film silicon electrodes with varying surface morphology were prepared by electron-beam deposition. The structural stability of silicon during its interaction with lithium under prolonged galvanostatic cycling was studied by electrochemical methods. It was found that a change in the surface morphology of electrodes leads to an increase in the average discharge capacity without significantly affecting the dynamics and nature of degradation during lithium intercalation/extraction.