Si Anode for All Solid State Batteries

The development of silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries has been largely impeded by poor interfacial stability against liquid electrolytes. I will show how to enable the operation of a 99.9 weight % microsilicon anode by using the interface passivating properties of sulfide solid electrolytes. Advanced interface and bulk characterization, and quantification of interfacial components, showed that such an approach eliminates continuous interfacial growth and irreversible lithium losses. Microsilicon full cells were assembled and found to achieve high areal current density, wide operating temperature range, and high areal loadings for the different cells. The promising performance can be attributed to both the desirable interfacial property between microsilicon and sulfide electrolytes and the distinctive chemomechanical behavior of the lithium-silicon alloy. I will also discuss a few exciting future directions for nanosilicon with solid state electrolytes.