Free stansing silicon/cnts coaxial nanowires composite film for use as lithium ion battery anode materials

Batteries come in different shapes and sizes. Their capacity also differs. Some may charge and discharge longer, while others may charge at a faster rate. There are also types of batteries that cannot be charge or discharge. One of the key parameters in fabricating a high capacity lithium ion battery is the materials that are used for the anode. Researchers have shown that Silicon can produce charge capacity up to 4200 mAh/g but face a serious capacity fade when using bulk silicon by itself resulting from structural pulverization by volume changes during lithiation/delithiation. Attentions have been shifted to the usage of Si nanostructure and amorphous silicon (a-Si) composite, for example, Si/CNTs or Si/grapheme composite as the anode material. In this study, freestanding Si/CNTs coaxial nanofibers composite film is fabricated. First, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) will be grown onto the stainless steel, and then followed by deposition of silicon onto the CNTs to form a freestanding Si/CNTs coaxial nanofibers composite film anode. Components of a battery are then assembled in the glove box. Characterization tests are conducted. SEM images are captured and CV profiling, rate capability and charge/discharge capacities are plotted and analyzed.Bachelor of Engineerin