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A combination of hierarchical pore and buffering layer construction for ultrastable nanocluster Si/SiOx anode

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Abstract

Porous Si can be synthesized from diverse silica (SiO2) via magnesiothermic reduction technology and widely employed as potential anode material in lithium ion batteries. However, concerns regarding the influence of residual silicon oxide (SiOx) component on resulted Si anode after reduction are still lacked. In this work, we intentionally fabricate a cauliflower-like silicon/silicon oxide (CF-Si/SiOx) particles from highly porous SiO2 spheres through insufficient magnesiothermic reduction, where residual SiOx component and internal space play an important role in preventing the structural deformation of secondary bulk and restraining the expansion of Si phase. Moreover, the hierarchically structured CF-Si/SiOx exhibits uniformly-dispersed channels, which can improve ion transport and accommodate large volume expansion, simultaneously. As a result, the CF-Si/SiOx-700 anode shows excellent electrochemical performance with a specific capacity of ~1,400 mA·h·g−1 and a capacity retention of 98% after 100 cycles at the current of 0.2 A·g−1.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51872157), Shenzhen Technical Plan Project (Nos. JCYJ20170817161753629 and JCYJ20180508152135822), the Shenzhen Graphene Manufacturing Innovation Center (No. 201901161513), Shenzhen Key Lab of Security Research of Power Batteries (No. ZDSYS201707271615073), Guangdong Technical Plan Project (Nos. 2015TX01N011 and 2017B090907005), Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program (No. 2017BT01N111), and the Special Fund Project for Strategic Emerging Industry Development of Shenzhen (No. 20170428145209110).

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Author notes

  1. Kun Zeng and Tong Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Power Battery Safety Research and Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Kun Zeng, Tong Li, Xianying Qin, Gemeng Liang, Lihan Zhang, Qi Liu, Baohua Li & Feiyu Kang

  2. Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Kun Zeng & Feiyu Kang

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Gemeng Liang, Lihan Zhang, Qi Liu & Feiyu Kang

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  1. Kun Zeng
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  2. Tong Li
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  3. Xianying Qin
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Correspondence to Xianying Qin, Baohua Li or Feiyu Kang.

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Zeng, K., Li, T., Qin, X. et al. A combination of hierarchical pore and buffering layer construction for ultrastable nanocluster Si/SiOx anode. Nano Res. 13, 2987–2993 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2962-y

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