Understanding the lithiation mechanism of micron-sized Si anode in both formation and initial cycling processes via in-situ SXDM and SAXS-CT

We recently investigated lithiation mechanism of micron-sized silicon for solid-state batteries in a solid-electrolyte-free anode configuration. Only few studies have looked at micron-sized Si anodes for solid-state batteries, and most of these focus on morphology using destructive characterisation techniques. In this experiment, we will apply SXDM (ID01) to study the interfacial phase transition of micron-sized crystalline silicon anode in the formation process and use SAXS-CT/PDF-CT (ID31) to investigate the evolution of lithiated phase distribution in the following charge/discharge cycle. The results of this experiment will reveal the lithium storage behaviour of micron-sized silicon anode in both formation and initial cycling processes and observe the interplay between electrochemical lithiation and morphological deformation. Both phenomena can have a substantial effect on practical cycling performance, so it is crucial to understand them.