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Synthesis of carbon nanotubes-supported porous silicon microparticles in low-temperature molten salt for high-performance Li-ion battery anodes

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Abstract

Silicon-based materials has attracted attention as a promising candidate for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high energy density. However, severe volume variation, pulverization, and poor conductivity hindered the development of Si based materials. In this study, porous Si microparticles supported by carbon nanotubes (p-Si/CNT) are fabricated through simple molten salt assisted dealloying process at low temperature followed by acid treatment. The ZnCl2 molten salt not only provides the liquid environment to enhance the reaction, but also participates the dealloying process and works as template for porous structure when removes by acid treatment. Additionally, distribution of defect sites in CNTs also increases after molten salt process. Density function theory (DFT) calculations further prove the defects could improve the adsorption of Li+. The participation of CNTs can also contribute to the reaction kinetics and retain the integrity of the electrode. As expected, the p-Si/CNT anode manifests enhanced lithium-storage performance in terms of superior cycling stability and good rate capability. The p-Si/CNT//LiCoO2 full cell assembly further demonstrates its potential as a prospective anode for high-performance LIBs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U21A2077, 21971145, and 21871164), the Taishan Scholar Project Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ts20190908), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Nos. ZR2021ZD05 and ZR2019MB024), and Young Scholars Program of Shandong University (No. 2017WLJH15).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China

    Qianliang Zhang, Baojuan Xi, Yitai Qian & Shenglin Xiong

  2. Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Mold of Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Weihua Chen

  3. Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution & Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China

    Jinkui Feng

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  1. Qianliang Zhang
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  2. Baojuan Xi
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  3. Weihua Chen
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Correspondence to Baojuan Xi or Shenglin Xiong.

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12274_2022_4275_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Synthesis of carbon nanotubes-supported porous silicon microparticles in low-temperature molten salt for high-performance Li-ion battery anodes

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Zhang, Q., Xi, B., Chen, W. et al. Synthesis of carbon nanotubes-supported porous silicon microparticles in low-temperature molten salt for high-performance Li-ion battery anodes. Nano Res. 15, 6184–6191 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4275-9

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