(National Academy of Sciences, 2012) Vlad, Alexandru; Reddy, Arava Leela Mohana; Ajayan, Anakha; Singh, Neelam; Gohy, Jean-François; Melinte, Sorin; Ajayan, Pulickel M.
Here we report an approach to roll out Li-ion battery components
from silicon chips by a continuous and repeatable etch-infiltratepeel
cycle. Vertically aligned silicon nanowires etched from recycled
silicon wafers are captured in a polymer matrix that operates as
Liþ gel-electrolyte and electrode separator and peeled off to make
multiple battery devices out of a single wafer. Porous, electrically
interconnected copper nanoshells are conformally deposited
around the silicon nanowires to stabilize the electrodes over extended
cycles and provide efficient current collection. Using the
above developed process we demonstrate an operational full cell
3.4 V lithium-polymer silicon nanowire (LIPOSIL) battery which is
mechanically flexible and scalable to large dimensions.