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Sub-nanometer structured silicon-carbon composite nanolayers armoring on graphite for fast-charging and high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries

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Abstract

Silicon/carbon composites are promising alternatives to current graphite anodes in commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of their high capacity and excellent safety. Nevertheless, the unsatisfactory fast-charging capability and cycle stability of Si/C composites caused by slow charge transport capability and huge volume change under industrial electrode conditions severely hamper their development. Here, a novel Si/C anode was fabricated by homogeneously depositing amorphous C-Si nanolayers on graphite (C-Si@graphite). C-Si nanolayers with uniformly dispersed sub-nanometer Si particles in 3D carbon skeleton significantly boost electron and Li-ion transport and efficiently relieve Si's agglomeration and volume change. As a result, the tailored C-Si@graphite electrodes show an excellent rate capacity (760.3 mAh·g−1 at 5.0C) and long cycle life of over 1000 cycles at 1.0C and 800 cycles at 2.0C under industrial electrode conditions. In addition, the assembled full cells (C-Si@graphite, anode; Li[Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1]O2, cathode) present superior fast-charging capability (240.4 Wh·kg−1, charging for 16.2 min, 3.0C) and long cycle life (80.7% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 1.0C), demonstrating the massive potential of C-Si@graphite for practical application.

Graphical abstract

摘要

硅/碳(Si/C)复合材料具有高的容量和良好的安全性, 是目前商用锂离子电池中石墨阳极的 有希望的替代选择。然而, 在工业电极条件下, Si/C 复合电极的电荷传输能力差, 体积变 化大, 导致其快速充电能力和循环稳定性难以满足应用要求, 严重阻碍了其进一步发展。 在这里, 我们通过在石墨表面均匀沉积非晶态C-Si 纳米层制备了一种新型Si/C 阳极(CSi@graphite)。其中, 亚纳米Si 粒子在三维碳骨架中均匀分布构成C-Si 纳米层, 显著促 进了电子和锂离子的传输, 有效缓解了Si 的团聚和体积变化。

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2020A1515110762).

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  1. Zhen-Wei Li and Mei-Sheng Han have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, 523808, China

    Zhen-Wei Li, Mei-Sheng Han & Jie Yu

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Optoelectronic Materials and Intelligent Photonic Systems, Shenzhen Engineering Lab for Supercapacitor Materials, School of Material Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518055, China

    Zhen-Wei Li & Jie Yu

  3. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Mei-Sheng Han

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  1. Zhen-Wei Li
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Li, ZW., Han, MS. & Yu, J. Sub-nanometer structured silicon-carbon composite nanolayers armoring on graphite for fast-charging and high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. Rare Met. 42, 3692–3704 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-023-02395-w

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