Expansion of carbon fibres induced by lithium intercalation for structural electrode applications

Carbon fibres (CFs) can work as lightweight structural electrodes in CF-reinforced composites able to store energy as lithium (Li)-ion batteries. The CF has high stiffness and strength-to-weight ratios and a carbonaceous microstructure which enables Li intercalation. An innovative in situ technique for studying the longitudinal expansion of the CF and the relationship with the amount of intercalated Li is described in the present paper. The polyacrylonitrile-based CFs, T800H and unsized IMS65, were chosen for their electrochemical storage capacities. It was found that the CF expands during lithiation and contracts during delithiation. At the first electrochemical cycle, the expansion is partly irreversible which supports that the first-cycle capacity loss partly relates to Li trapped in the CF structure. For the following cycles, the capacity and the expansion are reversible. The expansion, which might relate to tensile stress, increases up to 1% as the measured capacity approaches the theoretical limit of 372 mAh/g for Li storage in graphite. Minor additional expansions due to the uneven distribution of intercalated Li in the CF structure were measured before and after lithiations. Using scanning electron microscope images the transverse expansion of fully lithiated CFs was estimated to about 10% of the cross-section area.