Efficient 3D conducting networks built by graphene sheets and carbon nanoparticles for high-performance silicon anode.

The utilization of silicon particles as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries is hindered by their low intrinsic electric conductivity and large volume changes during cycling. Here we report a novel Si nanoparticle-carbon nanoparticle/graphene composite, in which the addition of carbon nanoparticles can effectively alleviate the aggregation of Si nanoparticles by separating them from each other, and help graphene sheets build efficient 3D conducting networks for Si nanoparticles. Such Si-C/G composite shows much improved electrochemical properties in terms of specific capacity and cycling performance (ca. 1521 mA h g(-1) at 0.2 C after 200 cycles), as well as a favorable high-rate capability.

[1]  R. Ruoff,et al.  Graphene and Graphene Oxide: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications , 2010, Advanced materials.

[2]  Byoungwoo Kang,et al.  Battery materials for ultrafast charging and discharging , 2009, Nature.

[3]  Xiaodong Chen,et al.  Graphene/nanosized silicon composites for lithium battery anodes with improved cycling stability , 2011 .

[4]  H. Dai,et al.  Graphene-wrapped sulfur particles as a rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery cathode material with high capacity and cycling stability. , 2011, Nano letters.

[5]  David Wexler,et al.  Highly reversible lithium storage in spheroidal carbon-coated silicon nanocomposites as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[6]  Harold H. Kung,et al.  Silicon nanoparticles-graphene paper composites for Li ion battery anodes. , 2010, Chemical communications.

[7]  Ying Wang,et al.  Application of graphene-modified electrode for selective detection of dopamine , 2009 .

[8]  Lin Gu,et al.  Reversible Storage of Lithium in Silver‐Coated Three‐Dimensional Macroporous Silicon , 2010, Advanced materials.

[9]  Ling Huang,et al.  Fabrication and properties of macroporous tin-cobalt alloy film electrodes for lithium-ion batteries , 2007 .

[10]  M. Armand,et al.  Building better batteries , 2008, Nature.

[11]  B. Han,et al.  Synthesis of graphene/polyaniline composite nanosheets mediated by polymerized ionic liquid. , 2010, Chemical communications.

[12]  Candace K. Chan,et al.  High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires. , 2008, Nature nanotechnology.

[13]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Symbiotic Coaxial Nanocables: Facile Synthesis and an Efficient and Elegant Morphological Solution to the Lithium Storage Problem , 2010 .

[14]  M. Yoshio,et al.  Carbon-coated silicon as anode material for lithium ion batteries: advantages and limitations , 2003 .

[15]  R. Schlögl,et al.  Superior storage performance of a Si@SiOx/C nanocomposite as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[16]  Yong Wang,et al.  Template‐Free Synthesis of SnO2 Hollow Nanostructures with High Lithium Storage Capacity , 2006 .

[17]  Yi Cui,et al.  Interconnected silicon hollow nanospheres for lithium-ion battery anodes with long cycle life. , 2011, Nano letters.

[18]  G. Yushin,et al.  Deformations in Si-Li anodes upon electrochemical alloying in nano-confined space. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[19]  Jin-Song Hu,et al.  Nanostructured Materials for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Devices , 2008 .

[20]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Cu‐Si Nanocable Arrays as High‐Rate Anode Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries , 2011, Advanced materials.

[21]  Xuejie Huang,et al.  Cage-like carbon nanotubes/Si composite as anode material for lithium ion batteries , 2006 .

[22]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Facile synthesis of silicon nanoparticles inserted into graphene sheets as improved anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. , 2012, Chemical communications.

[23]  Jun Chen,et al.  Nest‐like Silicon Nanospheres for High‐Capacity Lithium Storage , 2007 .

[24]  Jaephil Cho,et al.  Three-dimensional porous silicon particles for use in high-performance lithium secondary batteries. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[25]  Peihua Huang,et al.  Ultrahigh-power micrometre-sized supercapacitors based on onion-like carbon. , 2010, Nature nanotechnology.

[26]  Yang Liu,et al.  Preparation and Characterization of Si ∕ C Composite Coated with Polyaniline as Novel Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries , 2005 .

[27]  C. Liang,et al.  Hierarchically Structured Sulfur/Carbon Nanocomposite Material for High-Energy Lithium Battery , 2009 .

[28]  Chun Li,et al.  Flexible graphene films via the filtration of water-soluble noncovalent functionalized graphene sheets. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[29]  K. Müllen,et al.  Fabrication of graphene-encapsulated oxide nanoparticles: towards high-performance anode materials for lithium storage. , 2010, Angewandte Chemie.

[30]  G. Cui,et al.  Facile preparation of mesoporous titanium nitride microspheres for electrochemical energy storage. , 2011, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[31]  Zhi Yang,et al.  Novel Three‐Dimensional Mesoporous Silicon for High Power Lithium‐Ion Battery Anode Material , 2011 .

[32]  Cheng Sun,et al.  Tunable assembly of graphene oxide surfactant sheets: wrinkles, overlaps and impacts on thin film properties , 2010 .

[33]  J. Bates.  Thin-Film Lithium and Lithium-Ion Batteries , 2000 .

[34]  J. Maier,et al.  Nanoionics: ion transport and electrochemical storage in confined systems , 2005, Nature materials.