Si micropyramid patterned anodes that can suppress fracture and solid electrolyte interface formation during electrochemical cycling

•Si micropyramid anodes have excellent cyclability at high cycling rates.•Fracture is inhibited in micropyramids at high cycling rates.•A thicker SEI layer forms for Si micropyramid anodes at lower cycling rates.

Two new types of Si patterned surfaces are presented that have either a solid micropyramid structure or a double microstructure in which nanopores are induced on the pyramid surface. The pyramid diameter ranges between 1 and 6 μm, while the pores are 50–100 nm in diameter and ∼100–400 nm deep. It is illustrated that when they are employed as anodes, in Li-ion batteries, these patterned anodes, at high current densities of 1C, can (i) retain their initial morphology intact, despite the ∼400% expansion that Si experiences upon lithiation, and (ii) minimize the formation of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) that forms upon decomposition of the electrolyte. Furthermore, for the nanoporous-micropyramids, scanning electron microscopy after twenty-five electrochemical cycles reveals that no fracture occurs in either high (1 C) or low (0.1 C) current densities. This is a unique and significant observation as similar experiments, at 0.1 C, on the solid micropyramid surfaces indicate severe fracture from the first Li-insertion. It is therefore concluded that introducing a nanostructure on micropyramids significantly enhances their structural stability. This suggests that microscale Si with induced nanopores is an alternative anode candidate to nanoscale Si.