In Situ Electrochemical Dilatometry Study of Lithiation-Induced Giant Buckling Deformations in Monolithic Nanoporous Metal Films Used as Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes

In recent years, much attention has been paid to isotropic deformation in alloy-type battery electrodes [1]. Such isotropic deformations usually give rise to large dimensional changes such as a linear change of ~45% or a volumetric change of ~300%. However, much less attention has been paid to non-isotropic deformations, which are significantly more severe than isotropic deformations. In this talk, I will present our work on a new buckling deformation phenomenon that occurs in monolithic nanoporous films used as lithium-ion battery electrodes. This non-isotropic deformation occurs out-of-the plane of the material, and the corresponding linear strain can be as high as ~500 %, which is 11 times higher than the ~45% linear deformation commonly encountered during (de)lithiation-induced isotropic deformation. In our research, in situ electrochemical dilatometry techniques, and electron microscopy characterizations in combination with focus-ion beam based on Xe plasma, are used to thoroughly investigate this (de)lithiation-induced buckling deformation phenomenon.<br/>Reference:<br/>[1] J.S. Corsi, S.S. Welborn, E.A. Stach, and E. Detsi: “Insights into the Degradation Mechanism of Nanoporous Alloy-Type Li-Ion Battery Anodes.” ACS Energy Letters 6 (2021).