Ultrafine Nickel‐Nanoparticle‐Enabled SiO₂ Hierarchical Hollow Spheres for High‐Performance Lithium Storage

Abstract

The high theoretical capacity and natural abundance of SiO 2 make it a promising high-capacity anode material for lithium-ion batteries. However, its widespread application is significantly hampered by the intrinsic poor electronic conductivity and drastic volume variation. Herein, a unique hollow structured Ni/SiO 2 nanocomposite constructed by ultrafine Ni nanoparticle (≈3 nm) functionalized SiO 2 nanosheets is designed. The Ni nanoparticles boost not only the electronic conductivity but also the electrochemical activity of SiO 2 effectively. Meanwhile, the hollow cavity provides sufficient free space to accommodate the volume change of SiO 2 during repeated lithiation/ delithiation; the nanosheet building blocks reduce the diffusion lengths of lithium ions. Due to the synergistic effect between Ni and SiO 2 , the Ni/SiO 2 composite delivers a high reversible capacity of 676 mA h g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 . At a high current density of 10 A g −1 , a capacity of 337 mA h g −1 can be retained after 1000 cycles.

Electron Tomography: A Unique Tool Solving Intricate Hollow Nanostructures

“…Hollow-structured materials with diverse compositions, such as polymer, [48] carbon, [49] silica, [50] and metal/metal oxide, [51] have attracted extensive research attention and been fabricated via various strategies. [5] Due to the loss of mass thickness, hollow interiors with a distinctly low contrast can be easily identified from conventional TEM analysis.…”

SiOx/C‐Decorated CoO Nanosheets as a Long‐life Anode for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…[30,31] During the lithiation reaction, the SiO x can form the lithium silicates and Li 2 O, acting as a buffer layer on the surface of Si electrode in subsequent cycles. The conversion mechanism is expressed as follows in Equations (1) and (2): [32,33] 2SiO x þ3xLi þ þ3xe À !…”

Synthesis of multifunctional polymer containing Ni‐Pd NPs via thiol‐ene reaction for one‐pot cascade reactions

“…Furthermore, the XRD of Ni‐Pd@poly (SSA‐NVI)/KIT‐6 shows (111) diffraction peak of Pd at 40.05°. This peak was appeared in low intensity at higher 2θ compared with Pd@poly (SSA‐NVI)/KIT‐6, which indicates the formation of alloy between Ni and Pd in the Ni‐Pd@poly (SSA‐NVI)/KIT‐6 …”