Silicon Nanowires and Lithium Cobalt Oxide Nanowires in Graphene Nanoribbon Papers for Full Lithium Ion Battery

Described here is the production and characterization of a scalable method to produce 3D structured lithium ion battery anodes using free-standing papers of porous silicon nanowires (Si-NW) and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). Using simple filtration methods, GNRs and Si-NWs can be entangled into a mat thereby forming Si-NW GNR papers. This produces anodes with high gravimetric capacity (up to 2500 mA h g(-1)) and high areal and volumetric capacities (up to 11 mA h cm(-2) and 3960 mA h cm(-3)). The compact structure of the anode is possible since the GNR volume occupies a high proportion of empty space within the composite paper. These Si-NW/GNR papers have been cycled for over 300 cycles, exhibiting a stable life cycle. Combined with LiCoO2 nanowires, a full battery is produced with high energy density (386 Wh kg(-1)), meeting requirements for high performance devices.