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Silicon-based photovoltaic technology is helpful in reducing the cost of power generation; however, it suffers from economic losses and environmental pollution caused by silicon cutting waste. Herein, a hydrothermal method accompanied by heat treatment is proposed to take full advantage of the photovoltaic silicon cutting waste and biomass excrementum bombycis to fabricate flake-like porous Si@C (FP-Si@C) composite anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The resulting FP-Si@C composite with a meso-macroporous structure can buffer the severe volume changes and facilitate electrolyte penetration. Meanwhile, the slightly graphitic carbon with high electrical conductivity and mechanical strength tightly surrounds the Si nanoflakes, which not only contributes to the ion/electron transport but also maintains the electrode structural integrity during the repeated lithiation/delithiation process. Accordingly, the synergistic effect of the unique structure of FP-Si@C composite contributes to a high discharge specific capacity of 1322 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, superior cycle stability with a capacity retention of 70.8% after 100 cycles, and excellent rate performance with a reversible capacity of 406 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1. This work provides an easy and cost-effective approach to achieving the high-value application of photovoltaic silicon cutting waste, as well as obtaining high-performance Si-based anodes for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural characteristics of litchi shell-derived carbon are conducive to regulation and modification. Using biomass waste litchi shells as carbon source and nano-silicon particles to prepare silicon-carbon composite materials to relieve the volume effect of silicon in the charge and discharge process, litchi shell-derived activated carbon (LAC) with high specific surface area (1011.115 m2 g−1) and high porosity was obtained from litchi shell as silicon buffer matrix by simple high-temperature calcination and activation of ZnCl2. A silicon-carbon composite material (3D LAC@Si) with an embedded cladding structure was prepared with a high-energy ball milling process. In the electrochemical performance test, 3D LAC@Si as the negative electrode of a lithium-ion battery showed a high lithium storage capacity of 834.4 mAh g−1 and a high coulombic efficiency of 98.34% after cycling 100 cycles at a current density of 0.2A g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The severe volumetric changes occur during the lithiation/de-lithiation of silicon materials, which are the main cause of battery capacity failure. In this study, the expansion behavior of a cell composed of a silicon-carbon anode and Li(Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3)O 2 (NCM523) was measured using the electrochemical dilatometry, and the contributions of different silicon and carbon components to the expansion were analyzed, along with factors affecting the cyclic stability of the silicon carbon anode. The results indicate that amorphous carbon can inhibit the volume expansion of monocrystalline silicon in the late stage of lithiation, thereby ensuring the cyclic stability of silicon. The cyclic stability of silicon-carbon composites is affected by irreversible expansion and expansion variation, and these two factors are negatively correlated. This research provides insights and guidance for the design of silicon carbon electrodes with superior electrochemical performance. • The impact of silicon-carbon components on cycle stability. • The depth of lithiation influences the expansion of the anode. • Amorphous carbon can effectively inhibit the expansion of silicon anode. • The change in expansion is negatively correlated with irreversible expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose a mass production-able and low-cost method to fabricate the anodes of Li-ion battery. Carbonaceous anodes, integrated with thin amorphous silicon layers by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, can improve the performance of specific capacity and coulombic efficiency for Li-ion battery. Three different thicknesses of a-Si layers (320, 640, and 960 nm), less than 0.1 wt% of anode electrode, were deposited on carbonaceous electrodes at low temperature 200◦C. Around 30 mg of a-Si by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) can improve the specific capacity ~42%, and keep coulombic efficiency of the half Li-ion cells higher than 85% after first cycle charge-discharge test. For the thirty cyclic performance and rate capability, capacitance retention can maintain above 96%. The thicker a-Si layers on carbon anodes, the better electrochemical performance of anodes with silicon-carbon composites we get. The traditional carbonaceous electrodes can be deposited a-Si layers easily by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, which is a method with high potential for industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon/mesoporous carbon (Si/MC) composites with optimum Si content, in which the volumetric energy density would be maximized, while volume changes would be minimized, have been developed. The composites were prepared by dispersing Si nanoparticles in a phenolic resin as a carbon source, subsequent carbonization, and etching with hydrofluoric acid (HF). Special attention was paid to understanding the role of HF etching as post-treatment to provide additional void spaces in the composites. The etching process was shown to reduce the SiO2 native layer on the Si nanoparticles, resulting in increased porosity in comparison to the non-etched composite material. For cell optimization, vinylene carbonate (VC) was employed as an electrolyte additive to build a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the electrode. The composition of the SEI layer on Si/MC electrodes, cycled with and without VC-containing electrolytes for several cycles, was then comprehensively investigated by using ex-situ XPS. The SEI layers on the electrodes working with VC-containing electrolyte were more stable than those in configurations without VC; this explains why our sample with VC exhibits lower irreversible capacity losses after several cycles. The optimized Si/MC composites exhibit a reversible capacity of ~800 mAhg−1 with an average coulombic efficiency of ~99 % over 400 cycles at C/10.

It is suggested to form porous silicon-carbon nanocomposites via thermal reduction of carbon monofluoride by silicon. For this purpose a mixture of powders of nanocrystalline silicon and fluorocarbon is subjected to cold compaction and the resulting pellets are annealed in an inert atmosphere at T = 800 °C. The density, porosity, structure, composition, and electrical resistivity of thus produced Si–C materials have been studied in detail in relation to the content of the monofluoride in the starting mixture. It was shown that the materials obtained have a hierarchical porous structure constituted by silicon nanoparticles in a shell of finely dispersed carbon. The shells contacting with each other form a carbon matrix providing a high electrical conductivity of the material. The composite was used to fabricate negative electrodes of lithium-ion batteries with increased storage capacity. The electrochemical characteristics of Si–C nanocomposite anodes of varied composition were analyzed and those with high carbon content demonstrated the best performance. • New simple method to form porous silicon-carbon nanocomposites is proposed. • Properties of thus produced Si-C materials have been studied in relation to the content of CF x in the starting mixture. • The material consists of silicon nanoparticles in a carbon shell, which provides high electrical conductivity. • The composite was tested as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon can be used in a variety of applications. Particularly, silicon particles are attracting increased attention as energy storage materials for lithium-ion batteries. However, silicon has a limited cycling performance owing to its peeling from the current collector and the volume expansion that occurs during alloying with lithium in the charging process. Significant contributors to this problem are the even distribution of silicon nanoparticles within the carbon matrix and their deep placement in the internal structure. In this study, we synthesized silicon nanoparticles and carbon materials via a bottom-up approach using a new method called plasma in solution. Silicon nanoparticles and the carbon matrix were synthesized in a structure similar to carbon black. It was confirmed that the silicon particles were evenly distributed in the carbon matrix. In addition, the evaluation of the electrochemical performance of the silicon–carbon matrix (Si–C) composite material showed that it exhibited stable cycling performance with high reversible capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]