Modified SiO hierarchical structure materials with improved initial coulombic efficiency for advanced lithium-ion battery anodes

• Published in: RSC advances 2019-04, Vol.9 (2), p.11369-11376
• Main Authors: Xie, Lizhao, Liu, Hui, Lin, Shaoxiong, Yang, Xulai, Qi, Meizhou, Zhu, Lili, Guo, Yujing, Guo, Guilue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anodes; Chemistry; Discharge; Electrochemical analysis; Electrode materials; Flux density; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Morphology; Rechargeable batteries; Silicon; Solid electrolytes; Structural hierarchy
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c9ra00778d

Silicon-based anode materials are indispensable components in developing high energy density lithium-ion batteries, yet their practical application still faces great challenges, such as large volume change during the lithiation and delithiation process that causes the pulverization of silicon particles, and continuous formation and reformation of the solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) which results in a low initial coulombic efficiency. As an endeavor to address these problems, in this study, Si/SiO/Li 2 SiO 3 @C structures were prepared via a facile method using SiO, pitch powder and Li 2 CO 3 /PVA solution followed by annealing treatment. The Si/SiO/Li 2 SiO 3 @C composite shows a great improvement in lithium storage where a high discharge capacity of 1645.47 mA h g −1 was delivered with the 1 st C.E. of 69.05% at 100 mA g −1 . These results indicate that the designed method of integrating prelithiation and carbon coating for SiO and the as-prepared macro scale Si/SiO/Li 2 SiO 3 @C structures are practical for implementation in lithium-ion battery technology. A simple method of prelithiation of SiO along with carbon coating to achieve high performance SiO-based materials.