Photovoltaic Wafering Silicon Kerf Loss as Raw Material: Example of Negative Electrode for Lithium-Ion Battery

05 July 2023, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Silicon powder kerf loss from diamond wire sawing in the photovoltaic wafering industry is a highly appealing source material for use in lithium-ion battery negative electrodes. Here, it is demonstrated for the first time that the kerf particles from three independent sources contain ~50 % amorphous silicon. The crystalline phase is in the shape of nano-scale crystalline inclusions in an amorphous matrix. From literature on wafering technology looking at wafer quality, the origin and mechanisms responsible for the amorphous content in the kerf loss powder are explained. In order to better understand for which applications the material could be a valuable raw material, the amorphicity and other relevant features are thoroughly investigated by a large amount of experimental methods. Furthermore, the kerf powder was crystallized and compared to the partly amorphous sample by operando cycling X-ray powder diffraction experiments, demonstrating that the powders are relevant for further investigation and development for battery applications.

Keywords

amorphous
diamond wire sawing kerf
lithium-ion battery anode
secondary raw material
silicon

Supplementary materials

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Supporting information
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List of content: 1. Chemical analysis, 2. SEM, 3. XRPD, 4. Raman, 5. NMR, 6. SSA, 7. XPS, 8. PSD, 9. Electrochemistry
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