Fracture and debonding in lithium-ion batteries with electrodes of hollow core-shell nanostructures
In a novel design of lithium-ion batteries, hollow electrode particles coated with stiff shells are used to mitigate mechanical and chemical degradation. In particular, silicon anodes of such core-shell nanostructures have been cycled thousands of times with little capacity fading. To reduce weight and to facilitate lithium diffusion, the shell should be thin. However, to avert fracture and debonding from the core, the shell must be sufficiently thick.