Sn is a promising Li ion battery anode with high theoretical capacity, but it can easily pulverize due to repeated application of extreme volumetric strain of 260% during cycling. Sn is a low melting point metal with low modulus and therefore has previously been proposed to be a fracture resistant anode due to its the ability to relax stresses via plasticity and creep deformations. In this study, intrinsic mechanical properties of lithiated Sn at various stages in the lithiation were evaluated using nanoindentation experiments using a special setup. In order to avoid oxidation of the highly reactive lithiated Sn, nanoindentation was performed on specimens submerged in a mineral oil bath. After careful calibration, hardness and modulus of different phases of lithiated Sn were evaluated. With an increase in the lithium content, both the modulus and hardness of the lithiated Sn decreased, as expected, where the modulus and hardness are 28.6 GPa and 0.37 GPa, respectively, for fully lithiated Sn (Li₂₂Sn₅) and 58.0 GPa and 0.77 GPa, respectively, for unlithiated Sn. This is the first report on the mechanical properties of lithiated Sn, which is expected to be of importance in theoretical analysis of the diffusion induced stresses in Sn anodes.

Sn是具有高理论容量的有前途的锂离子电池负极，但由于在循环过程中反复施加260％的极高体积应变，因此它很容易粉碎。Sn是具有低模量的低熔点金属，因此由于其具有通过塑性和蠕变变形来缓和应力的能力，因此先前被提出为耐断裂阳极。在这项研究中，使用特殊设置的纳米压痕实验评估了锂化锂在锂化过程中各个阶段的固有机械性能。为了避免高反应性锂锡的氧化，对浸没在矿物油浴中的样品进行了纳米压痕。仔细校准后，评估了锂锡的不同相的硬度和模量。随着锂含量的增加，对于未锂化的Sn，分别为₂₂ Sn ₅）和58.0 GPa和0.77 GPa。这是有关锂化锡机械性能的第一份报告，有望在理论分析锡阳极中的扩散诱导应力方面发挥重要作用。