Research Progress of Silicon/Carbon Anode Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries: Structure Design and Synthesis Method

Abstract

Silicon has been considered as one of the best alternatives to replace widely used graphite anodes for lithium‐ion batteries, owing to its high theoretical capacity, proper working voltage, abundant availability, and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, there are many obstacles that hamper the practical applications of silicon anode materials such as huge volume change, low electrical and ionic conductivity, and unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI), which lead to the pulverization of silicon and severe attenuation of capacity. Among numerous solutions, compounding with carbon is a promising and effective one that attracts more and more attention. In silicon/carbon (Si/C) hybrid anodes, Si acts as the active material that provides high capacity and carbon improves the conductivity as well as alleviates the expansion of Si. In this review, research progresses and developments of Si/C anode materials are summarized mainly from the point of structure design and synthesis methods. Issues and possible solutions are also discussed.

Production of high-energy Li-ion batteries comprising silicon-containing anodes and insertion-type cathodes

“…In addition to adding Gr to Si, Si-containing functional second phases, including embedding Si particles into a continuous carbon matrix such as graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and carbon nanofibres (CNFs), as well as designing Si-containing encapsulated structures, including core-shell, yolk-shell and tailored porous structures, are among the most investigated anode materials at the laboratory scale; however, transfer to the industrial level remains challenging 22 .…”

Carbon-Coated Three-Dimensional MXene/Iron Selenide Ball with Core–Shell Structure for High-Performance Potassium-Ion Batteries

“…The initial discharge/charge capacities of the FeSe x @C/MB, FeSe x /MB, FeSe 2 –Fe 2 O 3 , and MB electrodes were 579/350, 574/356, 441/304, and 376/109 mAh g −1 , and their Coulombic efficiencies (CEs) were 60%, 62%, 69%, and 29%, respectively. Compared with FeSe x /MB, the lower initial CE of FeSe x @C/MB could be attributed to the presence of disordered carbon material with a high initial irreversible capacity [ 60 , 61 ]. Meanwhile, the lowest initial CE of MB was attributed to its high specific surface area, which provided more sites for the formation of an irreversible SEI layer.…”

Spherical Silicon/CNT/Carbon Composite Wrapped with Graphene as an Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…To overcome these problems, substantial research has been conducted for effectively accommodating the large volume changes and enhancing the electrical conduction of Si during cycling. According to the comprehensive overview on recent efforts for developing highly reliable Si-based anode materials [10][11][12][13][14][15], much attentions have been devoted to the design of Si/Carbon composites, thanks to many desirable features of carbon, such as abundance, high electrical conductivity, light weight and good compatibility with various electrolytes. It is also recognized that the utilization of nanoscale Si particles can significantly relieve the mechanical strain induced by the large volume change without cracking and thus improve the cycle performance of Si-based anode materials.…”