Engineering NTNU Norwegian

Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. Data Availability Statement X-ray diffraction data will be made available through the ESRF data portal after the embargo period (https://doi.org/10.15151/ESRF-ES-1578705079). Scanning transmission electron microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy data that support the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary material.

1 Introduction Silicon is a leading candidate to replace conventional graphite anodes in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high specific capacity of 3590 mAhg−1–nearly ten times greater than that of graphite (372 mAhg−1).[1, 2] However, the widespread commercialization of Si anodes is severely limited by poor cycling stability, primarily caused by the large volume expansion of ≈280 % upon formation of the Li15Si4 phase at full lithiation.[1-7] These volume changes generate mechanical strain...

1 Introduction Precise control of defects in solids is essential to introduce and tune functional properties.