Kirigami-based stretchable lithium-ion batteries.

We have produced stretchable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using the concept of kirigami, i.e., a combination of folding and cutting. The designated kirigami patterns have been discovered and implemented to achieve great stretchability (over 150%) to LIBs that are produced by standardized battery manufacturing. It is shown that fracture due to cutting and folding is suppressed by plastic rolling, which provides kirigami LIBs excellent electrochemical and mechanical characteristics. The kirigami LIBs have demonstrated the capability to be integrated and power a smart watch, which may disruptively impact the field of wearable electronics by offering extra physical and functionality design spaces.

Mitigating mechanical failure of crystalline silicon electrodes for lithium batteries by morphological design.

Although crystalline silicon (c-Si) anodes promise very high energy densities in Li-ion batteries, their practical use is complicated by amorphization, large volume expansion and severe plastic deformation upon lithium insertion. Recent experiments have revealed the existence of a sharp interface between crystalline Si (c-Si) and the amorphous LixSi alloy during lithiation, which propagates with a velocity that is orientation dependent; the resulting anisotropic swelling generates substantial strain concentrations that initiate cracks even in nanostructured Si. Here we describe a novel strategy to mitigate lithiation-induced fracture by using pristine c-Si structures with engineered anisometric morphologies that are deliberately designed to counteract the anisotropy in the crystalline/amorphous interface velocity. This produces a much more uniform volume expansion, significantly reducing strain concentration. Based on a new, validated methodology that improves previous models of anisotropic swelling of c-Si, we propose optimal morphological designs for c-Si pillars and particles. The advantages of the new morphologies are clearly demonstrated by mesoscale simulations and verified by experiments on engineered c-Si micropillars. The results of this study illustrate that morphological design is effective in improving the fracture resistance of micron-sized Si electrodes, which will facilitate their practical application in next-generation Li-ion batteries. The model and design approach present in this paper also have general implications for the study and mitigation of mechanical failure of electrode materials that undergo large anisotropic volume change upon ion insertion and extraction.

Unique aspects of a shape memory polymer as the substrate for surface wrinkling.

Typical bilayer wrinkle systems employ soft elastomers as the substrates. In contrast, shape memory polymers have recently emerged as attractive alternatives. Besides the shape fixing capability, shape memory polymers distinguish from elastomers in that they are rigid at room temperature, but experience significant modulus drop upon heating. We hereby report unique aspects of shape memory polymers as the wrinkle substrate utilizing a metallic thin film as the top layer. The feasibility to create both reversible and irreversible wrinkles (and diffraction colors) on a single substrate is demonstrated. Experimental conditions are identified to create crack free wrinkles and the impact of various experimental parameters on the wrinkle wavelength and amplitude is investigated. The results suggest that the wrinkle mechanics deviate notably from the existing theories established with elastomers as the wrinkle substrates. Thus, a new theory will need to be developed in the future, taking into account of unique thermomechanical properties of the shape memory substrate and possible plastic deformation of the thin film.