In Situ Rapid Swelling Screening For Silicon-Based Anode

The significance of measuring the expansion behavior of silicon-based anode

Due to its unique advantages such as high specific capacity (4200mAh/g) and rich resources, silicon (Si) anode is expected to replace the graphite anode and become the main anode material for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the rapid capacity degradation of silicon materials during the cycling process seriously hinderedits practical applications. This is due to the large volume expansion of silicon anode of more than three times during the intercalation process of lithium-ions, which will destroy the original solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed on the surface of the silicon anodes. During the cycling of the LIBs, the SEI will be destroyed and regenerated continually, which consumes a large amount of electrolyte and results in a rapid degradation of the capacity. Therefore, it is urgent to solve the problems caused by the volume expansion of silicon anode.

At present, researchers often use composite technology (e.g, "buffer skeleton") to compensate the volume expansion of silicon materials. The common composite routes include silicon-carbon composites, silicon-polymer composites, silicon-based alloy composites, and so on. Silicon-carbon composites are relatively easy and these two elements can also be tightly combined. Because it combines the high stability and conductivity of carbon materials, with the high specific capacity of silicon materials, the silicon-carbon anodes can not only effectively suppresses the volume expansion within a controllable range, but also increase the energy density and cycle life of the LIBs. Thus, it is regard as the most promising silicon-based anode for industrialization, and has received a lot of attentions.

It is worth noting that although the composite technology can alleviate the volume expansion of silicon-based anode, it still cannot fundamentally solve the expansion problem. With the increase of silicon content in silicon-based anode, the volume expansion also becomes more significant. Therefore, it has great significance for the research and manufacturing of silicon-based anodes if the volume expansion behavior of silicon-based anodes can be rapidly evaluated during the charging and discharging.

Features:

• In-situ characterization of the expansion thickness change of the silicon based system
• Four-channel for testing multiple cells simultaneously
• Suitable for cells with various structures: model coin cell, stacked cell and pouch cell, etc.
• Visual operation interface, one-click to export the data
  

Model Types:

	IE0501	IE0502	IE0503	IE0504
Number of channels	4		4
Pressure control mode	By weight		By servo motor
Pressure range	0.5kg/1kg/5kg (Customizable according to customer needs)		1~100kg
Pressure Resolution / accuracy	±0.01kg		0.1kg/±0.3%F.S.
Thickness range	±5mm	±5mm	±5mm	±5mm
Thickness detection resolution / precision	0.1µm/±1µm	0.01μm/±0.1μm	0.1µm/±1µm	0.01μm/±0.1μm
Systematic error	≤3%	≤3%	≤3%	≤3%
Maximum size of cell	60*90*4mm（can be customized according to specific needs）

Examples: 

1 . In-situ expansion test of model coin cell: