A Tremella-Like Nanostructure of Silicon@void@graphene-Like Nanosheets Composite as an Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Graphene coating is receiving discernable attention to overcome the significant challenges associated with large volume changes and poor conductivity of silicon nanoparticles as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. In this work, a tremella-like nanostructure of silicon@void@graphene-like nanosheets (Si@void@G) composite was successfully synthesized and employed as a high-performance anode material with high capacity, cycling stability, and rate capacity. The Si nanoparticles were first coated with a sacrificial SiO2 layer; then, the nitrogen-doped (N-doped) graphene-like nanosheets were formed on the surface of Si@SiO2 through a one-step carbon-thermal method, and the SiO2 layer was removed subsequently to obtain the Si@void@G composite. The performance improvement is mainly attributed to the good conductivity of N-doped graphene-like nanosheets and the unique design of tremella nanostructure, which provides a void space to allow for the Si nanoparticles expanding upon lithiation. The resulting electrode delivers a capacity of 1497.3 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.2 A g−1 after 100 cycles.