Combined Fe and Sr refining of Al-Si melt strategy for fabrication of hierarchical structure Si anodes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Juxuan Ding
  • Jifei Sun
  • Boyuan Ban
  • Xuesong Jiang
  • Xiaoxiao Zhu
  • Zhangchao Mo
  • Jian Chen

Organisational units

External Organisational units

  • Key Lab of Photovoltaic and Energy Conservation Materials
  • University of Science and Technology of China
  • Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center

Abstract

Both industrial and academic research societies have considered silicon (Si) as the most promising anode for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the huge volume changes of the Si matrix during the cycling processes damage the lifetime of Si anodes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the structure of the Si matrix is a vital factor affecting the cycling performance of the Si anodes. Herein, we propose a combined modification strategy by adding Sr and Fe into the Al-Si melt for the fabrication of refined hierarchical structure Si (HSSi-SrFe). Under the poisoning effect of Sr and refining effect of Fe, the morphology of the Si matrix was changed from a coarse flaky to a micron-sized hierarchical structure with 1D nano-secondary branches. As a result, the HSSi-SrFe delivers higher tap density, better dispersion and over 10 times conductivity compared with nano-Si. Meanwhile, the HSSi-SrFe@C electrode maintains a reversible capacity of ∼ 1000 mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles, and the LCO || HSSi-SrFe@C full cell shows a 91 % capacity retention after 100 cycles with a high areal capacity. This work exhibits the practicality of the melt modification strategy to scalable production low-cost and high-quality hierarchical structure Si for the application of high energy density LIBs.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number151488
Number of pages11
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume489.2024
Issue number1 June
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Apr 2024