Interfacial Fracture of Nanowire Electrodes of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Nanowires (NW) have emerged as a promising design for high power-density lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrodes. However, volume changes during cycling can lead to fracture of the NWs. In this paper, we investigate a particularly detrimental form of fracture: interfacial detachment of the NW from the current collector (CC). We perform finite element simulations to calculate the energy release rates of NWs during lithiation as a function of geometric parameters and mechanical properties. The simulations show that the energy release rate of a surface crack decreases as it propagates along the NW/CC interface toward the center of the NW. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that plastic deformation in the NWs drastically reduces stresses and thus crack-driving forces, thereby mitigating interfacial fracture. Overall, the results in this paper provide design guidelines for averting NW/CC interfacial fractures during operation of LIBs.