• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.139-142
• /
• 2018

Silicon (Si) is a promising anode material for next-generation lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high capacity of 4,200 mAh/g ($Li_{4.4}Si$ phase). However, the large volume expansion of Si during lithiation leads to electrical failure of electrode and rapid capacity decrease. Generally, a binder is homogeneously mixed with active materials to maintain electrical contact, so that Si needs a particular binding system due to its large volume expansion. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is known to form a hydrogen bond with partially hydrolyzed silicon oxide layer on Si nanoparticles. However, the decrease of its cohesiveness followed by the repeated volume change of Si still remains unsolved. To overcome this problem, we have introduced the electrospinning method to weave active materials in a stable nanofibrous PVA structure, where stresses from the large volume change of Si can be contained. We have confirmed that the capacity retention of Si-based LIBs using electrospun PVA matrix is higher compared to the conservative method (only dissolving in the slurry); the $25^{th}$ cycle capacity retention ratio based on the $2^{nd}$ cycle was 37% for the electrode with electrospun PVA matrix, compared to 27% and 8% for the electrodes with PVdF and PVA binders.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2014.02a
• /
• pp.160.2-160.2
• /
• 2014

Recently silicon has attracted intense interest as a promising anode material of lithium-ion batteries due to its extremely high capacity of 4200 mA/g (for Li4.2Si) that is much higher than 372 mAh/g (for LiC6) of graphite. However, it seriously suffers from large volume change (even up to 300%) of the electrode upon lithiation, leading to its pulverization or mechanical failure during lithiation/delithiation processes and the rapid capacity fading. To overcome this problem, Si nanowires have been considered. Use of such Si nanowires provides their facile relaxation during lithiation/delithiation without mechanical breaking. To design better Si electrodes, a study to unveil atomic-scale mechanisms involving the volume expansion and the phase transformation upon lithiation is critical. In order to investigate the lithiation mechanism in Si nanowires, we have developed a reactive force field (ReaxFF) for Si-Li systems based on density functional theory calculations. The ReaxFF method provides a highly transferable simulation method for atomistic scale simulation on chemical reactions at the nanosecond and nanometer scale. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with the ReaxFF reproduces well experimental anisotropic volume expansion of Si nanowires during lithiation and diffusion behaviors of lithium atoms, indicating that it would be definitely helpful to investigate lithiation mechanism of Si electrodes and then design new Si electrodes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 1998.11a
• /
• pp.315-318
• /
• 1998

Organic light-emitting diodes(OLEDs) or electroluminescent devices have attracted much attention because of their possible application as large-area light-emitting displays. Their structure was based on employing a multilayer device structure containing an emitting layer and a carrier transporting layer of suitable organic materials. In this study, several Tb complexes such as Tb(ACAC)$_3$(Phen), Tb(ACAC)$_3$(Phen-Cl) and Tb(TPB)$_3$(Phen) were synthesized and the photoluminescence(PL) and electroluminescence (EL) characteristics of their thin films were investigated by fabricating the devices having a structure of anode/HTL/terbium-oomplex/ETL/cathode, where TPD was used as an hole transporting and Alq$_3$ and TAZ-Si were used as an electron transporting materials. It was found that the photoluminescence(PL) and electroluminescence(EL) characteristics of these terbium complexes were dependent upon the ligands coordinated to terbium metal. Details on the explanation of electrical transport phenomena of the structure with I-V characteristics of the OLEDs using the trapped-charge-limited current(TCLC) model will be discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2008.06a
• /
• pp.241-241
• /
• 2008

Macrofore formation in silicon and other semiconductors using electrochemical etching processes has been, in the last years, a subject of great attention of both theory and practice. Its first reason of concern is new areas of macropore silicone applications arising from microelectromechanical systems processing (MEMS), membrane techniques, solar cells, sensors, photonic crystals, and new technologies like a silicon-on-nothing (SON) technology. Its formation mechanism with a rich variety of controllable microstructures and their many potential applications have been studied extensively recently. Porous silicon is formed by anodic etching of crystalline silicon in hydrofluoric acid. During the etching process holes are required to enable the dissolution of the silicon anode. For p-type silicon, holes are the majority charge carriers, therefore porous silicon can be formed under the action of a positive bias on the silicon anode. For n-type silicon, holes to dissolve silicon is supplied by illuminating n-type silicon with above-band-gap light which allows sufficient generation of holes. To make a desired three-dimensional nano- or micro-structures, pre-structuring the masked surface in KOH solution to form a periodic array of etch pits before electrochemical etching. Due to enhanced electric field, the holes are efficiently collected at the pore tips for etching. The depletion of holes in the space charge region prevents silicon dissolution at the sidewalls, enabling anisotropic etching for the trenches. This is correct theoretical explanation for n-type Si etching. However, there are a few experimental repors in p-type silicon, while a number of theoretical models have been worked out to explain experimental dependence observed. To perform ordered macrofore formaion for p-type silicon, various kinds of mask patterns to make initial KOH etch pits were used. In order to understand the roles played by the kinds of etching solution in the formation of pillar arrays, we have undertaken a systematic study of the solvent effects in mixtures of HF, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), iso-propanol, and mixtures of HF with water on the macrofore structure formation on monocrystalline p-type silicon with a resistivity varying between 10 ~ 0.01 $\Omega$ cm. The etching solution including the iso-propanol produced a best three dimensional pillar structures. The experimental results are discussed on the base of Lehmann's comprehensive model based on SCR width.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.77-92
• /
• 2021

The energy density of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) determines the mileage of electric vehicles. For increasing the energy density of LIBs, it is necessary to develop high-capacity active materials that can store more lithium ions within constrained weight. The rapid progress made in cathode technology has realized the utilization of the near-theoretical capacity of cathode materials. In contrast, commercial LIBs have still exploited graphite as active material in anodes since the 1990s. The most promising way to increase anodes' capacity is to mix high-capacity and long-cycle-life silicon oxides (SiOx) with graphite. However, the low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of SiOx limits its content below 15 wt%, impeding the capacity increase in anodes. To address this issue, various prelithiation techniques have been proposed, which can improve the ICE of high-capacity anode materials. In this review paper, we introduce the principles and expected effects of prelithiation techniques reported so far. According to the reaction mechanisms, the strategies are categorized. Mainly, we focus on the recent progress of solution-based chemical prelithiation methods with commercial viability, of which lithiation reaction occurs homogeneously at liquid-solid interfaces. We believe that developing a cost-effective and mass-scalable prelithiation process holds the key to dominating the anode market for next-generation LIBs.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.83-89
• /
• 2020

For the past few decades, as part of efforts to protect the environment where fossil fuels, which have been a key energy resource for mankind, are becoming increasingly depleted and pollution due to industrial development, ecofriendly secondary batteries, hydrogen generating energy devices, energy storage systems, and many other new energy technologies are being developed. Among them, the lithium-ion battery (LIB) is considered to be a next-generation energy device suitable for application as a large-capacity battery and capable of industrial application due to its high energy density and long lifespan. However, considering the growing battery market such as eco-friendly electric vehicles and drones, it is expected that a large amount of battery waste will spill out from some point due to the end of life. In order to prepare for this situation, development of a process for recovering lithium and various valuable metals from waste batteries is required, and at the same time, a plan to recycle them is socially required. In this study, we introduce a nanoscale pattern transfer printing (NTP) process of Li2CO3, a representative anode material for lithium ion batteries, one of the strategic materials for recycling waste batteries. First, Li2CO3 powder was formed by pressing in a vacuum, and a 3-inch sputter target for very pure Li2CO3 thin film deposition was successfully produced through high-temperature sintering. The target was mounted on a sputtering device, and a well-ordered Li2CO3 line pattern with a width of 250 nm was successfully obtained on the Si substrate using the NTP process. In addition, based on the nTP method, the periodic Li2CO3 line patterns were formed on the surfaces of metal, glass, flexible polymer substrates, and even curved goggles. These results are expected to be applied to the thin films of various functional materials used in battery devices in the future, and is also expected to be particularly helpful in improving the performance of lithium-ion battery devices on various substrates.