PNNL

Abstract

The atomic scale lithiation mechanism of individual SnO2 nanowires in a flooding geometry with the entire wires being immersed in the electrolyte was revealed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. The lithiation initiated multiple stripes with width of a few nanometer parallel to {020} planes transversing the entire wires, serving as multiple reaction fronts for late stage of lithiation. Inside the stripes, we identified high density of dislocations and enlarged inter-planar spacing, which provide effective path for lithium ion transport. The density of the stripes increased with further lithiation, and eventually they merged with one another, causing a large enlongation and volume expansion and the crystalline to amorphous phase transformation. This multiple stripes and multiple reaction fronts lithiation mechanism is unexpected and differs completely from the expected core-shell lithiation mechanism.