Advanced Performance of Annealed Ni-P/(Etched Si) Negative Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The electrochemical performance of variously treated Ni-P-coated Si (Ni-P/Si) negative electrodes for lithium-ion batteries was investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the formation of nickel silicide (NiSi and NiSi2) after annealing, which improved the adhesion between the Ni-P coating layer and Si particles. Spotty Ni-P particles did not aggregate on an etched Si surface due to an anchor effect, even after annealing, whereas the particles aggregated on an untreated Si surface. An annealed Ni-P/(etched Si) negative electrode maintained a discharge capacity of 2000 mA h g-1 even at the 100th cycle in an organic electrolyte, which can be attributed to Ni-P particles remaining on the surface of the annealed Ni-P/(etched Si) electrode even after the charge-discharge test. The annealed Ni-P/(etched Si) electrode also exhibited superior cycle performance with a reversible capacity of 1000 mA h g-1 over 750 and 1100 cycles in an organic electrolyte containing film-forming additive and an ionic liquid electrolyte, respectively. Consequently, the annealed Ni-P/(etched Si) electrode achieved both high reversible capacity and long cycle life.