A Hierarchical, Nanofibrous, Tin‐Oxide/Silicon Composite Derived from Cellulose as a High‐Performance Anode Material for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

A hierarchical nanofibrous tin-oxide/silicon composite with tin oxide nanoparticles anchored on the silicon nanofiber surface is fabricated employing natural cellulose substance (ordinary filter paper) as structural template. Tin oxide gel is deposited uniformly onto the surface of the silicon nanofibers that prepared by magnesiothermic reduction of the silica replica of the filter paper, and thereafter, the as-prepared tin-oxide À gel/ silicon nanocomposite is calcined in argon atmosphere to yield the tin-oxide/silicon nanocomposite. The resulted tin-oxide/ silicon nanocomposite possesses a hierarchical network structure that inherited from the initial cellulose substance. When the nanocomposite is evaluated as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries, it exhibits superior lithium storage properties compared with the pure silicon nanofiber and tin oxide powder matters. For such a nanocomposite with 58.8 wt% tin oxide content delivers a specific reversible capacity of 547.8 mAh g À 1 after 150 discharge/charge cycles at 100 mA g À 1 . The improved lithium storage performances are attributed to the unique three-dimensional hierarchical porous network structure of the nanocomposite, high dispersed fine tin oxide nanoparticles on the silicon nanofiber surface, as well as the synergistic effects between the silicon nanofibers and the tin oxide nanoparticles on the lithium storage.[a] Dr.

Natural Cellulose Derived Nanocomposites as Anodic Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…A nanofibrous SnO 2 /Si composite composed of fine SnO 2 nanocrystals (sizes ca . 3–5 nm) coated on the silicon nanofibers was prepared by using the natural cellulose substance as the structural template . To make the material, the SnO 2 ‐gel/silicon composite was firstly synthesized via depositing the SnO 2 gel layers onto the silicon nanofibers that derived from the cellulose substance; afterwards, the sample was calcined in argon to give the SnO 2 /Si nanocomposite, which possessed a hierarchical network structure that derived from the initial cellulose substance.…”

“…3-5 nm) coated on the silicon nanofibers was prepared by using the natural cellulose substance as the structural template. [95] To make the material, the SnO 2 -gel/silicon composite was firstly synthesized via depositing the SnO 2 gel layers onto the silicon nanofibers that derived from the cellulose substance; afterwards, the sample was calcined in argon to give the SnO 2 /Si nanocomposite, which possessed a hierarchical network structure that derived from the initial cellulose substance. When the nanocomposite was applied as an anodic material for LIBs, it exhibited improved electrochemical performances as compared with the pure SnO 2 nanoparticles and Si nanofibers.…”

Electrochemical Performance Enhancement of Micro-Sized Porous Si by Integrating with Nano-Sn and Carbonaceous Materials

“…In order to alleviate the huge change in the volume during cycles and increase the electrical conductivity of Si, several approaches have been discussed, including constructing different structures of silicon and designing Si-based composites [ 28 ]. Various silicon-based nanostructures have been proposed, such as nanoparticles [ 29 , 30 , 31 ], nanowires [ 32 , 33 , 34 ], porous structures [ 35 , 36 , 37 ], yolk-shell constructions [ 38 ].…”

Synergic effects of the decoration of nickel oxide nanoparticles on silicon for enhanced electrochemical performance in LIBs

“…The hybridization of silicon with different materials having particular properties for LIBs could be an efficient approach to easing the abovementioned problems. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Researchers are focusing on different structural design approaches for the enhancement of the Li-ion storage capabilities of silicon.…”