Boron heteroatom-doped silicon-carbon peanut-like composites enables long life lithium-ion batteries

Carbon coated Si core-shell structures have been proposed to solve the adverse effects of Si-based anode. However, designing ideal core-shell architecture with excellent surface and interface properties is still a significant challenge. Herein, a novel peanut-like structure of B-doped silicon/carbon nanoparticle (Si@B-C) synthesized by sol-gel process and subsequent thermal reduction is reported. The peanut-like Si@B-C electrode demonstrates a superior cyclability of 534 mAh center dot g(-1) after 1000 cycles at high current density of 1000 mA center dot g(-1). The exceptional electrochemical performance is attributed to the boric acid-induced highly interconnected peanut-like structure and boron heteroatom framework could provide a continuous electron pathway to reduce the irreversible lithium ion loss during rapid cycling. This work provides insight into the development of the heteroatom-doped Si-based anodes with stable cycling performance for LIBs.

Automated summary

A novel peanut-like structure of B-doped silicon/carbon nanoparticle (Si@B-C) synthesized by sol-gel process exhibits superior electrochemical performance, attributed to the unique peanut-like structure.