Provided are examples of electrochemically active electrode materials, electrodes using such materials, and methods of manufacturing such electrodes. Electrochemically active electrode materials may include a high surface area template containing a metal silicide and a layer of high capacity active material deposited over the template. The template may serve as a mechanical support for the active material and/or an electrical conductor between the active material and, for example, a substrate. Due to the high surface area of the template, even a thin layer of the active material can provide sufficient active material loading and corresponding battery capacity. As such, a thickness of the layer may be maintained below the fracture threshold of the active material used and preserve its structural integrity during battery cycling.

Template electrode structures for depositing active materials

A new non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on copper/porous silicon nanocomposite

A new electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of acetaminophen and codeine based on porous silicon/palladium nanostructure

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) technology for the conversion of solar energy into chemicals requires cost-effective photoelectrodes to efficiently and stably drive anodic and/or cathodic half-reactions to complete the overall reactions for storing solar energy in chemical bonds. The shared properties among semiconducting photoelectrodes and photovoltaic (PV) materials are light absorption, charge separation, and charge transfer. Earth-abundant silicon materials have been widely applied in the PV industry, and have demonstrated their efficiency as alternative photoabsorbers for photoelectrodes. Many efforts have been made to fabricate silicon photoelectrodes with enhanced performance, and significant progress has been achieved in recent years. Herein, recent developments in crystalline and thin-film silicon-based photoelectrodes (including amorphous, microcrystalline, and nanocrystalline silicon) immersed in aqueous solution for PEC hydrogen production from water splitting are summarized, as well as applications in PEC CO2 reduction and PEC regeneration of discharged species in redox flow batteries. Silicon is an ideal material for the cost-effective production of solar chemicals through PEC methods.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/cssc.201701674

Recent Advances in Photoelectrochemical Applications of Silicon Materials for Solar-to-Chemicals Conversion

Here, a non-enzymatic amperometric sensor is fabricated for glucose detection based on nickel nanoparticles supported on porous silicon flour. A facile procedure was introduced for the in-situ electroless assembling of nickel nanoparticles on porous silicon (PS) flour without using any reducing agent. Briefly, Ni@PSnanocompositewaspreparedthroughthechemicalreductionofNi2(Her)+ ions and oxidation of the surface of Si atoms in ammonium fluoride solution. The formation of the Ni@PS nanocomposite was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and FT-IR spectroscopy as well as cyclic voltammetry (CV). The synthesized nanocomposite was employed as an electrode material for non-enzymatic glucose (Gl) sensing using carbon paste electrode (CPE). The prepared amperometric sensor exhibited a wide linear range of 2.0–5000 μmol L−1 with a low limit of detection (0.2 μmol L−1) as well as high stability and fast response time (<3 s). Also, no significant interference was observed from potentially interference species such as dopamine, ascorbic acid, uric acid and Cl− ions. The excellent applicability of the proposed sensor for determination of Gl in human blood serum with good accuracy and reproducibility made Ni@PS nanocomposite promising for the development of effective electrochemical non-enzymatic Gl sensor.

Nickel nanoparticles supported on porous silicon flour, application as a non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensor

https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A7845316c-13a0-4743-b651-7ff529fc5324/datastream/OBJ/download

Formation of thin-film crystalline silicon on glass observed by in-situ XRD

https://pure.tue.nl/ws/files/3859437/580908126573209.pdf

Study of the effect of boron doping on the solid phase crystallisation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films

Stress in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) is a critical issue for the mechanical stability of the material and it has become a problem of growing importance, especially in view of silicon wafer thickness reduction. Without increasing the wafer strength, the high fracture rate during handling and subsequent processing steps leads to excessive losses. A non-uniform stress distribution could be expected in critical areas such as grain boundaries, wire-saw-damaged layer and areas near the metallization and soldered contacts. Therefore, a non-destructive method to locally determine stress in mc-Si solar cells is of technological importance. In this paper stress characterization based on a combination of Raman spectroscopy, electroluminescence imaging, cell bowing measured with a laser scanning device, confocal microscopy and ex-situ bending tests will be presented. The most critical processing steps during the manufacture of screen-printed solar cells are wafer cutting, firing of metallic contacts and the soldering process. In this work the development of mechanical stress in silicon wafers as a result of different processing steps will be evaluated. Furthermore, residual stress and stress developing during silicon cell bending are measured in relation to microstructure and defect density. It was found that there is an inhomogeneous distribution of stress along grain boundaries and metallic inclusions. It was found that at a certain load grain boundaries in mc-Si wafers experience a higher stress (∼50 MPa) than grains themselves (∼30 MPa). A significant Raman shift was observed in samples with a wire-saw-damaged layer and in the areas close to Ag fingers and Al/Ag bus bars. Raman scanning was also performed along the solar cell cross section with different metallization patterns.

Raman spectroscopy characterization of residual stress in multicrystalline silicon solar wafers and solar cells: Relation to microstructure, defects and processing conditions

J.M. Westra

Papers

Formation of thin-film crystalline silicon on glass observed by in-situ XRD

Study of the effect of boron doping on the solid phase crystallisation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films

Raman spectroscopy characterization of residual stress in multicrystalline silicon solar wafers and solar cells: Relation to microstructure, defects and processing conditions

Crystallization Process of Amorphous Silicon Films on Glass Monitored by In-Situ XRD

Effect of c-Si base layer thickness on efficiency limits of thin - film c-Si solar cells on glass