This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.

In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.

Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.

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Description
This dissertation will investigate two of the most promising high-capacity anode

materials for lithium-based batteries: silicon (Si) and metal lithium (Li). It will focus on

studying the mechanical behaviors of the two materials during charge and discharge and

understanding how these mechanical behaviors may affect their electrochemical

performance.

In

This dissertation will investigate two of the most promising high-capacity anode

materials for lithium-based batteries: silicon (Si) and metal lithium (Li). It will focus on

studying the mechanical behaviors of the two materials during charge and discharge and

understanding how these mechanical behaviors may affect their electrochemical

performance.

In the first part, amorphous Si anode will be studied. Despite many existing studies

on silicon (Si) anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), many essential questions still exist

on compound formation, composition, and properties. Here it is shown that some

previously accepted findings do not truthfully reflect the actual lithiation mechanisms in

realistic battery configurations. Furthermore the correlation between structure and

mechanical properties in these materials has not been properly established. Here, a rigorous

and thorough study is performed to comprehensively understand the electrochemical

reaction mechanisms of amorphous-Si (a-Si) in a realistic LIB configuration. In-depth

microstructural characterization was performed and correlations were established between

Li-Si composition, volumetric expansion, and modulus/hardness. It is found that the

lithiation process of a-Si in a real battery setup is a single-phase reaction rather than the

accepted two-phase reaction obtained from in-situ TEM experiments. The findings in this

dissertation establish a reference to quantitatively explain many key metrics for lithiated a

Si as anodes in real LIBs, and can be used to rationally design a-Si based high-performance

LIBs guided by high-fidelity modeling and simulations.

In the second part, Li metal anode will be investigated. Problems related to dendrite

growth on lithium metal anodes such as capacity loss and short circuit present major

barriers to the next-generation high-energy-density batteries. The development of

successful mitigation strategies is impeded by the incomplete understanding of the Li

dendrite growth mechanisms. Here the enabling role of plating residual stress in dendrite

initiation through novel experiments of Li electrodeposition on soft substrates is confirmed,

and the observations is explained with a stress-driven dendrite growth model. Dendrite

growth is mitigated on such soft substrates through surface-wrinkling-induced stress

relaxation in deposited Li film. It is demonstrated that this new dendrite mitigation

mechanism can be utilized synergistically with other existing approaches in the form of

three-dimensional (3D) soft scaffolds for Li plating, which achieves superior coulombic

efficiency over conventional hard copper current collectors under large current density.
ContributorsWang, Xu (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis advisor) / Yu, Hongbin (Thesis advisor) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Wang, Liping (Committee member) / Qiong, Nian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
Flexible conducting materials have been in the forefront of a rapidly transforming electronics industry, focusing on wearable devices for a variety of applications in recent times. Over the past few decades, bulky, rigid devices have been replaced with a surging demand for thin, flexible, light weight, ultra-portable yet high performance

Flexible conducting materials have been in the forefront of a rapidly transforming electronics industry, focusing on wearable devices for a variety of applications in recent times. Over the past few decades, bulky, rigid devices have been replaced with a surging demand for thin, flexible, light weight, ultra-portable yet high performance electronics. The interconnects available in the market today only satisfy a few of the desirable characteristics, making it necessary to compromise one feature over another. In this thesis, a method to prepare a thin, flexible, and stretchable inter-connect is presented with improved conductivity compared to previous achievements. It satisfies most mechanical and electrical conditions desired in the wearable electronics industry. The conducting composite, prepared with the widely available, low cost silicon-based organic polymer - polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silver (Ag), is sandwiched between two cured PDMS layers. These protective layers improve the mechanical stability of the inter-connect. The structure can be stretched up to 120% of its original length which can further be enhanced to over 250% by cutting it into a serpentine shape without compromising its electrical stability. The inter-connect, around 500 µm thick, can be integrated into thin electronic packaging. The synthesis process of the composite material, along with its electrical and mechanical and properties are presented in detail. Testing methods and results for mechanical and electrical stability are also illustrated over extensive flexing and stretching cycles. The materials put into test, along with conductive silver (Ag) - polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite in a sandwich structure, are copper foils, copper coated polyimide (PI) and aluminum (Al) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
ContributorsNandy, Mayukh (Author) / Yu, Hongbin (Thesis advisor) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020