Electrochemical characterization of silicon nanowires as an anode for lithium batteries

•Silicon nanowires grown by CVD technique were used as an anode in lithium cells.•A large irreversible capacity was observed during the discharge.•A beneficial effect was observed when increasing the discharge current.•The reversible capacity also increased by increasing the end discharge potential.•This improvement was offset by a reduction in the specific capacity.

In this paper the preparation of silicon nanowires and their electrochemical characterization as an anode in lithium batteries is reported. The nanowires were synthesized by CVD and characterized by XRD, SEM and EDS. The nanostructured materials were used as electrodes in lithium cells and their electrochemical properties were investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge cycles at various discharge rates. To evaluate the dependence of the specific capacity and charge coefficient on the end charge potential this parameter was varied during the experimentation. The evolution of the charge transfer resistance, specific capacity, and charge coefficient as a function of the number of the cycles was also investigated.