New approach to mass production of lithium-ion battery anodes

In a recent study published in the Journal Applied materials and ACS interfacesthe large-scale production of an interesting pore-rich micro/nanostructured Si/C microsphere composed of Si nanoparticles has been investigated.

Study: Evolutionary Synthesis of Pore-Rich Si/[email protected] Core-shell structure microspheres for practical long-life lithium-ion battery anodes. Image Credit: Lightboxx/Shutterstock.com

What are LIBs?

LIBs (lithium-ion batteries) are essential energy sources with high energy density. Due to its excellent specific capacity of more than 3500 mAh g^-1availability and environmentally acceptable characteristics, silicon (Si) has been considered a viable choice for the anode material of next-generation high-current lithium-ion batteries.

However, the use of Si anodes is hampered by significant volume expansion during repetitive charging and discharging processes, which causes structural sputtering of electrocatalysts and rapid performance deterioration. In addition, Si anode compounds have high conductivity, which results in low processability.

Advantages of Si/C alloys at the microscale

Incorporating elements of conductive materials, such as Si/C composites and Si metals, into composites can effectively compensate for poor electrical properties.

The development of Si nanostructured products can help to absorb the large volume fluctuations of Si and increase its lifetime. However, nanostructured conductors encounter additional hurdles that need to be addressed.

The increase in effective surface area of ​​nanostructured conductors results in the use of more ions, resulting in low start-up Coulomb efficiency (ICE). However, the reduced volumetric power density generated by the smaller tap is detrimental to the useful characteristics of Si anodes.

Micro-sized silicon-based compounds, on the other hand, have higher packing density and storage capacity than their nanoscale counterparts.

Microscale silicon granules are more likely to suffer from morphological sputtering and low ion/electron transport efficiency throughout the production cycle, resulting in rapid capacity loss.

Particular Si nanoparticles are tightly coupled to carbon components in such a micro/nanostructured substance, and they are bound in a three-dimensional (3D) device structure. This unique design improves the conductance of the active material, decreases side reactions of Si with electrolytes during cycling, and increases the tap densities of Si-based semiconductors, resulting in increased cycling efficiency with excellent dimensional power density.

Methodology followed

A modular technique for fabricating a pore-rich micro/nanostructured Si/C microsphere has been introduced. This structural concept fuses nanostructured Si nanomaterials and nanoscale cross-linked C matrices with the solid C outer shell and demonstrates a number of attractive qualities that promote greater efficiency.

In particular, P-Si/[email protected] has an abundance of inner holes, which provide sufficient space to facilitate the massive volume change of Si while accelerating the kinematic phase of migration of Li+ into the electrodes.

P-Si/C nanomaterials placed in a cross-linked C matrix increase Si conductance and prevent electrolytic aggregation. P-Si/ as manufactured[email protected] The electrode had a large ICE of approximately 90%, excellent changeability, and exceptional life, outperforming many Si/C reinforced anodes in initial studies. Moreover, the P-Si/[email protected] the nanoparticles had a minimum electrode swelling of 18.1% at significant areal capacity.

Study Highlights

A sustainable way to produce fascinating P-Si/fundamental[email protected] microspheres by spray drying and CVD procedures has been established using sulfates as blowing chemicals.

Its electrolytic efficiency can be improved by the design and architecture of micro/nanostructured P-Si/[email protected] specimen due to the extraordinary advantages of nanoscale Si, micro-sized cross-linked C-matrix and outer C-nanocoat that are provided by this composition.

P-Si/ fabricated[email protected] The electrodes exhibited exceptional electrocatalytic activity, including a large ICE of approximately 90%, exceptional repair ability, and outstanding cycling efficiency. This was due to the structural advantages of diodes.

It was possible to achieve an astonishingly low cathodic inflation of 18.1% while maintaining high aquifer efficiency. Surprisingly, when combined with a commercial NCM electrode and installed in a conical core, the filled unit exhibited better cyclability with greater storage retention of 81.4% after 1200 cycles at 1°C and an efficiency conversion efficiency with very high specific capacity at wide temperature ranges, illustrating the high demand for real-world implementations in this configuration.

The research results strongly demonstrated that P-Si/[email protected] the high-concentration microparticles hold tremendous promise as alternatives to the currently marketed graphene anode material for large next-generation lithium-ion batteries and provide critical guidance for the development of large nickel-based anodes , among others.

Reference

An, W., Him, P., et al. (2022). Evolutionary synthesis of Pore-Rich Si/[email protected] Core-shell structure microspheres for practical long-life lithium-ion battery anodes. Applied materials and interfaces. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.1c22656

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