Combinatorial investigations of the Si-Al-Mn system for Li-ion battery applications

Combinatorial sputtering methods were used to produce thin films of amorphous Si-Al-Mn whose composition varied in a linear and orthogonal manner. Electrochemical investigations were performed on over 200 compositions of Si-Al-Mn with either standard coin-type test cell hardware or a 64-channel combinatorial electrochemical cell described previously. Si0.38Al0.52Mn0.1 was determined to be the optimum composition within the range of Si-Al-Mn that can be melt-spun amorphously. Li-ion rechargeable battery negative electrodes based on this composition could lead to commercial cells with 40% more charge storage capacity and good cycling performance.