Superlattice-structured films by magnetron sputtering as new era electrodes for advanced lithium-ion batteries
By Keles, Ozgul; Karahan, B. Deniz; Eryilmaz, Levent; Amine, Rachid; Abouimrane, Ali; Chen, Zonghai; Zuo, Xiaobing; Zhu, Zihua; Al-Hallaj, Said; Amine, Khalil
Published in Nano Energy
Nano Energy
2020
Abstract
Sustaining a sound structure in Si-based anodes is extremely challenging because of the high volumetric expansion that occurs upon cycling. To maintain capacity retention during the cycling, there is a need for new designs that rely on engineering-specific hierarchical geometries and/or optimized composite compositions such that at least one of the multiple elements serves as buffer and/or electron conductive pathway in the electrodes. Here, we report an innovative design in which alternate layers of atomic structures involving multiple elements form a new anode material for lithium-ion batteries. In this work, a superlattice-structured film containing Si, Mo, and Cu is fabricated by a simple and scalable magnetron sputtering process for the first time. With the help of the formation of a continuous and repetitive superlattice along the film thickness, a homogeneous stress-strain distribution is attained. In our superlattice thin film, the Si atoms are distributed along the film thickness within the alternate Mo