High-performance anode of lithium ion batteries with plasma-prepared silicon nanoparticles and a three-component binder

The crystalline silicon nanoparticles coated with an amorphous silicon layer was prepared by continuously pyrolysing the mixture of silane and hydrogen in a non-thermal arc plasma reactor. The hydrogen in the gas mixture effectively controls the thickness of the amorphous silicon layer and further improves the electrochemical performance of the silicon anode. The mechanism of the hydrogen was investigated by experiments. At the same time, a three-component polymer binder was concocted and introduced to tolerate the volume expansion of silicon effectively. Combining the silicon nanoparticles prepared at the optimal conditions with the novel polymer binder, the resulting silicon anode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance of 2120 mAh g(-1) at 400 mA g(-1) after 100 cycles.

Automated summary

Crystalline silicon nanoparticles coated with an amorphous silicon layer were prepared by continuously pyrolysing a mixture of silane and hydrogen in a non-thermal arc plasma reactor. The role of hydrogen in controlling the thickness of the amorphous silicon layer and improving the electrochemical performance of the silicon anode was investigated through experiments. Introducing a three-component polymer binder effectively tolerated the volume expansion of silicon, resulting in an excellent electrochemical performance of the silicon anode.