Research Area
Silicon AnodeSilicon anode subgroup is involved towards developing the next generation of alloy anodes to replace graphite, for increased cell energy density. Silicon anodes can provide high theoretical specific capacity (~4000 mAh/g) but suffer from large volume expansion (~300%) and subsequent contraction during lithiation and delithiation, that severely affects its capacity retention. Our efforts are geared towards solving this fundamental issue through binder engineering, pre-lithiation strategies and exploring silicon oxide as an alternative solution for stable capacity retention. Our team explores the realm of both half-cell and full cell configurations to understand the effects that arise from both the anode and cathode.
Our expertise in diagnosing battery materials through advanced characterization, using tomography for 3-D visualization, microscopy and spectroscopy (TEM, XPS) and electrochemistry provides us with a deeper understanding of the issues and help us to provide more targeted and effective solution to current challenges.
Highlighted Publications:
1. P. Parikh, M. Sina, A. Banerjee, X. Wang, M. Savio D’Souza, J.-M. Doux, E. A. Wu, O. Y. Trieu, Y. Gong, Q. Zhou, K. Snyder, and Y. S. Meng, “Role of Polyacrylic Acid (PAA) Binder on the Solid Electrolyte Interphase in Silicon Anodes” Chemistry of Materials, 2019, 31 (7), 2535
2. H. Shobukawa, J. Alvarado, Y. Yang, Y. S. Meng, “Electrochemical performance and interfacial investigation on Si composite anode for lithium ion batteries in full cell”, Journal of Power Sources, 2017, 359, 173
3. M. Sina, J. Alvarado, H. Shobukawa, C. Alexander, V. Manichev, L. Feldman, T. Gustafsson, K. Stevenson, Y. S. Meng,”Direct Visualization of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase and Its Effects on Silicon Electrochemical Performance” Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2016, 1600438
4. H. Shobukawa, J.W. Shin, J. Alvarado, C. S. Rustomji and Y. S. Meng, “Electrochemical reaction and surface chemistry for performance enhancement of a Si composite anode using a bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquid”, Journal of Materials Chemistry A., 2016, 4, 15117