title: A rapid, solvent-free protocol for the synthesis of germanium nanowire lithium-ion anodes with a long cycle life and high rate capability.
abstract: A rapid synthetic protocol for the formation of high-performance Ge nanowire-based Li-ion battery anodes is reported. The nanowires are formed in high density by the solvent-free liquid deposition of a Ge precursor directly onto a heated stainless steel substrate under inert conditions. The novel growth system exploits the in situ formation of discrete Cu3Ge catalyst seeds from 1 nm thermally evaporated Cu layers. As the nanowires were grown from a suitable current collector, the electrodes could be used directly without binders in lithium-ion half cells. Electrochemical testing showed remarkable capacity retention with 866 mAh/g achieved after 1900 charge/discharge cycles and a Coulombic efficiency of 99.7%. The nanowire-based anodes also showed high-rate stability with discharge capacities of 800 mAh/g when cycled at a rate of 10C.
authors.affiliation: Materials and Surface Science Institute and the Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick , Limerick, Ireland.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mullane
authors.forename: Tadhg
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Geaney
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ryan
keywords: germanium nanowires; high capacity; lithium-ion battery; long cycle life; network; porous