Amorphous silicon–carbon based nano-scale thin film anode materials for lithium ion batteries

The buffering effect of carbon on the structural stability of amorphous silicon films, used as an anode for lithium ion rechargeable batteries, has been studied during long term discharge/charge cycles. To this extent, the electrochemical performance of a prototype material consisting of amorphous Si thin film (∼250 nm) deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on amorphous carbon (∼50 nm) thin films, denoted as a-C/Si, has been investigated. In comparison to pure amorphous Si thin film (a-Si) which shows a rapid fade in capacity after 30 cycles, the a-C/Si exhibits excellent capacity retention displaying ∼0.03% fade in capacity up to 50 cycles and ∼0.2% after 50 cycles when cycled at a rate of 100 μA/cm2 (∼C/2) suggesting that the presence of thin amorphous C layer deposited between the Cu substrate and a-Si acts as a buffer layer facilitating the release of the volume induced stresses exhibited by pure a-Si during the charge/discharge cycles. This structural integrity combined with microstructural stability of the a-C/Si thin film during the alloying/dealloying process with lithium has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The buffering capacity of the thin amorphous carbon layer lends credence to its use as the likely compliant matrix to curtail the volume expansion related cracking of silicon validating its choice as the matrix for bulk and thin film battery systems.

Research highlights
► Thin film amorphous C/Si. Good cycling response validates carbon matrix for Silicon anodes.
► Thin film amorphous C/Si/C. Good cycling response validates carbon as an interface and matrix.