Effects of transformation strain due to lithiation/delithiation in Sn electrode of Li-ion batteries

Abstract

Sn and Sn-based compounds have attracted great interest as a candidate for anode materials of Li-ion batteries. In the present work, in a Sn-Li battery system we have investigated effects of the volume change associated with the formation of Li-Sn compounds on the electrode potential from the viewpoint of the Gibbs free energy and associated elastic-strain energy. Our experimental results show that the experimental electrode potential is much lower than the value expected thermodynamically, when a Sn plate-shape electrode is lithiated. These experimental results can be consistently explained by considering the contribution of the elastic-strain energy to the chemical free energy of formation.