posted on 2014-06-25, 00:00authored byHao Liu, Hyung-Man Cho, Ying Shirley Meng, Quan Li
Aiming
at improving the volumetric capacity of nanostructured Li-ion battery
anode, an electrodeposited Si-on-Ni inverse opal structure has been
proposed in the present work. This type of electrode provides three-dimensional
bi-continuous pathways for ion/electron transport and high surface
area-to-volume ratios, and thus exhibits lower interfacial resistance,
but higher effective Li ions diffusion coefficients, when compared
to the Si-on-Ni nanocable array electrode of the same active material
mass. As a result, improved volumetric capacities and rate capabilities
have been demonstrated in the Si-on-Ni inverse opal anode. We also
show that optimization of the volumetric capacities and the rate performance
of the inverse opal electrode can be realized by manipulating the
pore size of the Ni scaffold and the thickness of the Si deposit.