Breathing Easy (IMAGE) DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Caption In electrodes, silicon nanoparticles coated in alucone (yellow spheres outlined in orange) expand and contract easily on charging and use. But left to their native silicon oxide covering (yellow spheres in blue), they break down fast on recharging. Credit Chongmin Wang/PNNL Usage Restrictions please credit License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.