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Rational structure design to realize high-performance SiOx@C anode material for lithium ion batteries

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Abstract

Silicon suboxide (SiOx) is considered to be one of the most promising materials for next-generation anode due to its high energy density. For its preparation, the wet-chemistry method is a cost-effective and readily scalable route, while the so-derived SiOx usually shows lower capacity compared with that prepared by high temperature-vacuum evaporation route. Herein, we present an elaborate particle structure design to realize the wet-chemistry preparation of a high-performance SiOx/C nanocomposite. Dandelionlike highly porous SiOx particle coated with conformal carbon layer is designed and prepared. The highly-porous SiOx skeleton provides plenty specific surface for intimate contact with carbon layer to allow a deep reduction of SiOx to a low O/Si ratio at relatively low temperature (700 °C), enabling a high specific capacity. The abundant mesoscale voids effectively accommodate the volume variation of SiOx skeleton, ensuring the high structural stability of SiOx@C during lithiation/delithiation process. Meanwhile, the three-dimensional (3D) conformal carbon layer provides a fast electron/ion transportation, allowing an enhanced electrode reaction kinetics. Owing to the optimized O/Si ratio and well-engineered structure, the prepared SiOx@C electrode delivers an ultra-high capacity (1,115.8 mAh·g−1 at 0.1 A·g−1 after 200 cycles) and ultra-long lifespan (635 mAh·g−1 at 2 A·g−1 after 1,000 cycles). To the best of our knowledge, the achieved combination of ultra-high specific capacity and ultra-long cycling life is unprecedented.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U1637202 and 51634003), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFB0905600), and Beijing Municipal Education Commission-Natural Science Foundation Joint Key Project (No. KZ201910005003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Zhaolin Li, Hailei Zhao, Jie Wang, Tianhou Zhang, Boyang Fu, Zijia Zhang & Xin Tao

  2. Beijing Key Municipal Laboratory of New Energy Materials and Technologies, Beijing, 100083, China

    Hailei Zhao & Jie Wang

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  1. Zhaolin Li
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  2. Hailei Zhao
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  3. Jie Wang
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  4. Tianhou Zhang
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  7. Xin Tao
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Correspondence to Hailei Zhao.

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Li, Z., Zhao, H., Wang, J. et al. Rational structure design to realize high-performance SiOx@C anode material for lithium ion batteries. Nano Res. 13, 527–532 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2644-9

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