Enabling SiOx/C Anode with High Initial Coulombic Efficiency through a Chemical Pre-Lithiation Strategy for High Energy Density Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces 2020-06, Vol.12 (24), p.27202-27209
• Main Authors: Yan, Ming-Yan, Li, Ge, Zhang, Juan, Tian, Yi-Fan, Yin, Ya-Xia, Zhang, Chuan-Jian, Jiang, Ke-Cheng, Xu, Quan, Li, Hongliang, Guo, Yu-Guo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c05153

Carbon-coated SiOx microparticles (SiOx/C) demonstrate attractive potential for anode use in high energy density lithium-ion batteries due to high capacity and proper cycling stability. However, the excessive irreversible consumption of Li ions during the initial cycling remains a serious challenge arising from the limited lithium in full-cells. Here, we enable SiOx/C anode with high initial Coulombic efficiency by chemical pre-lithiation strategy. The lithium silicate is uniformly pre-generated in SiOx microparticles which could effectively counteract the irreversible consumption of Li ions and avoid the complicate pre-lithiation process. Moreover, this strategy guarantees the structure integrity and processability of anode materials because of the homogeneous Li-organic complex solution pre-lithiation and high-temperature calcination process. The obtained SiOx/C microparticles can be applied as anode materials by directly mixing with commercial graphite which demonstrate proper specific capacity, high initial Coulombic efficiency and excellent cycling performance. Furthermore, the pouch-cells using LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathodes and the as-prepared anodes exhibit high energy density (301 Wh kg-1) and satisfactory cycling stability (93.3% capacity retention after 100 cycles).