Facile Fabrication of Highly Porous 3D Sponge-Like Si@C Composites as High-Performance Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this work, we synthesized highly porous 3D sponge-like mesoporous (MP)-Si@C composites using mass-scalable method. The optimized MP-Si@C 1 composite electrode, provided a reversible capacity of 1887 mAh g(-1) after 100 discharge-charge cycles with capacity retention of 83 % at the rate of 0.1 C. At high C-rate the MP-Si@C 1 anode provided reversible capacity of 910 mAh g(-1) after 1000 cycles. The MP-Si@C 1/LCO full cell provide a discharge capacity of 1515 mAh g(-1) and it works well for 100 cycles. This outstanding electrochemical behavior of the MP-Si@C 1 composite electrode was accredited to the exclusive structure of interconnected Si nanoparticles and the presence of the outer C thin layer. The carbon layer served as a shield, an effective buffer layer to house the extreme volume expansion issue of Si during continuous cycling. The excellent performance of the MP-Si@C 1 composite demonstrated its high applicability as potential anode material for next-generation LIBs.

Automated summary

In this study, highly porous 3D sponge-like mesoporous (MP)-Si@C composites were synthesized using a mass-scalable method. The optimized composite electrode exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance at high C-rates, making it a potential candidate for next-generation LIBs.