Filter paper derived nanofibrous silica-carbon composite as anodic material with enhanced lithium storage performance

A filter-paper-derived nanofibrous silica-carbon composite composed of thin silica layer conformally coated on carbon nanofibers is synthesized by employing natural cellulose substance (ordinary laboratory filter paper) as both scaffold and carbon source. When the nanocomposite is employed as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, it displays improved lithium-ion storage performance compared with the bare silica and carbon counter materials, due to the unique three-dimensional porous network structures of the carbon fiber scaffold and the thin silica layer. For the silica-carbon nanocomposite with 31.2 wt% of silica content and the silica layer with a thickness of ca. 60 nm, it delivers a stable discharge capacity of ca. 400 mAh g(-1) after 200 discharge/charge cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1) Moreover, improved electrochemical performances are achieved by coverage of an additional carbon layer or deposition of silver nanoparticles onto the silica-carbon nanofibers, which exhibits specific capacities of 488.7 and 477.5 mAh g(-1) after 100 discharge/charge cycles, respectively. The current synthetic method provides a facile and low-cost strategy for the large-scale production of nanofibrous silica-carbon based composites as anodic materials for lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.