Silicon nitride thin film electrode for lithium-ion batteries

This paper presents electrode properties of silicon nitride (SiN0.92) as a negative electrode in a lithium battery investigated in a solid electrolyte. SiN0.92 thin films formed by using pulsed laser deposition technique show redox reactions below 0.5 V vs. Li+/Li. A 200 nm thick film delivers a high capacity of 1800 mAh g(-1) at the first reduction process and retains 1300 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles. Although increasing the film thickness to 500 nm decreases the capacity to some extent, the capacities in the 1st and 100th are 1200 and 700 mAh g(-1), respectively, which are quite higher than that of the current carbon negative electrode. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.