A delicately designed functional binder enabling in situ construction of 3D cross-linking robust network for high-performance Si/graphite composite anode

The silicon (Si)-based anodes suffer from large volume expansion in the lithiation process. Aiming at improving the cycling stability of a Si/graphite composite anode processed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, a functional aqueous binder was delicately designed and synthesized via an aqueous copolymerization of lithium acrylate and vinyl triethoxy silane (VTEO). The PAA-VTEO binder can in situ react with the silanol groups on the surface of Si nanoparticles to form a robust 3D cross-linked network. The resulting extremely high modulus and hardness of this integrated 3D network structure effectively restrained the volume expansion effect and significantly enhanced the electrochemical cycling stability of the CVD-Si@graphite composite anode. This work will provide new perspectives in designing functional binder for Si-based anodes.     

Low-cost SiO-based anode using green binders for lithium ion batteries

The influence of environmentally friendly aqueous binders and carbon coating on the electrochemical performance of SiO powder anodes for lithium ion batteries has been investigated in detail. The SiO anode with sodium alginate (Alg), styrene butadiene rubber/sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC) or polyacrylic acid binder exhibits fairly good cycling stability. However, use of polyvinyl alcohol as binder results in rapid capacity loss during cycling. The positive effect of the former binders could be attributed to the amorphous structures and ester-like bond, which were detected by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared. The cycling performance is further enhanced by carbon coating on the surface of the SiO. The reversible capacity of SiO/C electrode with either Alg or SCMC can retain ca. 940 mAh g^?1 after 100 cycles. In particular, a long-term cycling stability can be achieved for SiO/C electrode using SCMC binder. Additionally, the high irreversibility of SiO/C electrode at the first cycle can be completely compensated by a simple pretreatment.     

Poly(siloxane imide) Binder for Silicon‐Based Lithium‐Ion Battery Anodes via Rigidness/Softness Coupling

Binders play a crucial role in maintaining mechanical integrity of electrodes in lithium‐ion batteries. However, the conventional binders lack proper elasticity, and they are not suitable for high‐performance silicon anodes featuring huge volume change during cycling. Herein, a poly(siloxane imide) copolymer (PSI) has been designed, synthesized, and utilized as a binder for silicon‐based anodes. A rigidness/softness coupling mechanism is demonstrated by the PSI binder, which can accommodate volume expansion of the silicon anode upon lithiation. The electrochemical performance in terms of cyclic stability and rate capability can be effectively improved with the PSI binder as demonstrated by a silicon nanoparticle anode.     

Polymer Binders Constructed through Dynamic Noncovalent Bonds for High-Capacity Silicon-Based Anodes

Silicon (Si) is a promising candidate for high-capacity anode materials owing to its high theoretical capacity (3579 mAh g⁻¹), low working voltage, and wide natural abundance, although its huge volume variation during charge/discharge processes always results in a short cycling life. Polymer binders play a vital role in improving the cycling performance of Si-based anodes, although traditional polyvinylidene difluoride cannot fulfil the requirements owing to its weak van der Waals forces with the Si surface. Recently, polymer binders constructed by dynamic bonds have been developed, which are reported to allow high-energy-density electrodes with improved electrochemical performance. With dynamic bonds including hydrogen bonding, ionic bonding, and host–guest interactions, these polymer binders possess self-healing capabilities and enhanced mechanical performance, achieving a tremendous advance in addressing the capacity fading of Si-based anodes. In this review, we will summarize the research progress of polymer binders constructed with dynamic bonds, and the challenges for their real applications in advanced Li-ion batteries will also be discussed.     

Miscellaneous PEDOT:PTS (polythiophenesulfonyl chloride) based conductive binder for silicon anodes in lithium ion batteries

Lithium ion batteries which are an energy storage system have increasing attention owing to suitability and advantages for many applications. Although it has ideal specifications, the capacity properties still have to be developed. In this study, the electrical conductivity of the anode was increased by using a conductive polymer binder and the active material content of the anode was also enhanced without adding carbon additives. Silicon based anodes were manufactured by using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/polythiophenesulfonyl chloride (PEDOT:PTS) conductive polymer binders. Si/PEDOT:PTS anode showed about 2000 mAh/g specific capacities after 60 cycles with decreasing impedance.     

Engineering the Distribution of Carbon in Silicon Oxide Nanospheres at the Atomic Level for Highly Stable Anodes

The application of high‐performance silicon‐based anodes, which are among the most prominent anode materials, is hampered by their poor conductivity and large volume expansion. Coupling of silicon‐based anodes with carbonaceous materials is a promising approach to address these issues. However, the distribution of carbon in reported hybrids is normally inhomogeneous and above the nanoscale, which leads to decay of coulombic efficiency during deep galvanostatic cycling. Herein, we report a porous silicon‐based nanocomposite anode derived from phenylene‐bridged mesoporous organosilicas (PBMOs) through a facile sol–gel method and subsequent pyrolysis. PBMOs show molecularly organic–inorganic hybrid character, and the resulting hybrid anode can inherit this unique structure, with carbon distributed homogeneously in the Si‐O‐Si framework at the atomic scale. This uniformly dispersed carbon network divides the silicon oxide matrix into numerous sub‐nanodomains with outstanding structural integrity and cycling stability.     

硅负极黏结剂的研究进展

硅材料在锂离子电池负极中具有极高的应用前景, 当前的挑战是其脱锂嵌锂过程中大幅度的体积变化对负极性能的影响. 本文综合评述了黏结剂策略在解决硅材料体积效应问题方面的独特优势, 探讨了硅用黏结剂的发展历程和多功能趋势, 系统总结了硅用黏结剂在提升硅负极电化学性能上的研究进展, 并对未来硅用黏结剂发展的新思路和新方向进行了展望.     

Crosslinked carboxymethyl cellulose-sodium borate hybrid binder for advanced silicon anodes in lithium-ion batteries

Hybrid gel binder with deformable network and strong adhesive capability on silicon particles can effectively accommodate the large volume change of silicon anodes upon cycling, leading to an excellent cycling stability and high Coulombic efficiency.     

锂离子电池硅基负极材料的预锂化研究进展

锂离子二次电池已成为日常生活中不可或缺的一部分, 而现有的锂离子电池并不能完全满足电动汽车领域高能量密度的要求, 发展具有高能量密度的电极材料是解决问题的关键. 硅负极因理论比容量高、 脱嵌锂电位低、 来源广泛等优点而备受关注, 但其巨大的体积变化(约300%)以及低的首次库仑效率阻碍了其商业应用. 预锂化技术可以有效提高首次库仑效率、 实现高性能硅基负极, 本文阐述了预锂化的科学必要性, 介绍了各种预锂化的方法以及优缺点, 最后对硅基负极预锂化应用的挑战和前景进行了展望.     

Ionic/electronic conductivity regulation of n-type polyoxadiazole lithium sulfonate conductive polymer binders for high-performance silicon microparticle anodes

Low-cost silicon microparticles(SiMP),as a substitute for nanostructured silicon,easily suffer from cracks and fractured during the electrochemical cycle.A novel n-type conductive polymer binder with excellent electronic and ionic conductivities as well as good adhesion,has been successfully designed and applied for high-performance SiMP anodes in lithium-ion batteries to address this problem.Its unique features are attributed to the stro ng electron-withdrawing oxadiazole ring structure with sulfonate polar groups.The combination of rigid and flexible components in the polymer ensures its good mechanical strength and ductility,which is beneficial to suppress the expansion and contraction of SiMP s during the charge/discharge process.By fine-tuning the monomer ratio,the conjugation and sulfonation degrees of the polymer can be precisely controlled to regulate its ionic and electronic conductivities,which has been systematically analyzed with the help of an electrochemical test method,filling in the gap on the conductivity measurement of the polymer in the doping state.The experimental results indicate that the cell with the developed n-type polymer binder and SiMP(~0.5 μm) anodes achieves much better cycling performance than traditional non-conductive binders.It has been considered that the initial capacity of the SiMP anode is controlled by the synergetic effect of ionic and electronic conductivity of the binder,and the capacity retention mainly depends on its electronic conductivity when the ionic conductivity is sufficient.It is worth noting that the fundamental research of this wo rk is also applicable to other battery systems using conductive polymers in order to achieve high energy density,broadening their practical applications.     

Polydopamine-mediated synthesis of Si@carbon@graphene aerogels for enhanced lithium storage with long cycle life

The application of Si as the anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is still severely hindered by the rapid capacity decay due to the structural damage caused by large volume change (> 300%) during cycling. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) aerogel anode of Si@carbon@graphene (SCG) is rationally constructed via a polydopamine-assisted strategy. Polydopamine is coated on Si nanoparticles to serve as an interface linker to initiate the assembly of Si and graphene oxide, which plays a crucial role in the successful fabrication of SCG aerogels. After annealing the polydopamine is converted into N-doped carbon (N-carbon) coatings to protect Si materials. The dual protection from N-carbon and graphene aerogels synergistically improves the structural stability and electronic conductivity of Si, thereby leading to the significantly improved lithium storage properties. Electrochemical tests show that the SCG with optimized graphene content delivers a high capacity (712 mAh/g at 100 mA/g) and robust cycling stability (402 mAh/g at 1 A/g after 1500 cycles). Furthermore, the full cell using SCG aerogels as anode exhibits a reversible capacity of 187.6 mAh/g after 80 cycles at 0.1 A/g. This work provides a plausible strategy for developing Si anode in LIBs.     

On the binding mechanism of CMC in Si negative electrodes for Li-ion batteries

Silicon is investigated intensively as a promising anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The choice of binder is very important to solve the problem of the large capacity fade observed along cycling. Although carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is not an elastomeric binder, it has been shown to vastly improve the cycling performance of Si electrodes. We demonstrate here that the efficiency of CMC can be attributed to its extended conformation in solution that facilitates a networking process of the conductive additive and Si particles during the composite electrode elaboration. Taking advantage of this understanding, we have adjusted the processing conditions and obtained a four times higher reversible capacity of the Si/CMC electrode than that obtained with the same electrode processed with standard conditions.     

担载纳米硅的锂-碳复合微球作为锂二次电池负极

金属锂由于其极高的理论比容量(3860mAh·g~(-1),2061mAh·cm~(-3))和低的还原电势(相对于标准氢电极(SHE)为-3.04 V)等特点,成为了高能量密度锂电池负极材料的极佳选择之一。从上个世纪七十年代开始,科研工作者便开始了金属锂负极的研究,然而,由于金属锂与电解液反应严重,镀锂过程体积膨胀大,且在循环中易生成枝晶,以金属锂为负极的电池循环稳定性差,而且容易短路从而带来安全隐患。因此金属锂做为锂电池负极的商业化推广最终没有成功。在本工作中,我们在前期设计的锂-碳纳米管复合微球(Li-CNT)中引入了纳米硅颗粒制备了硅颗粒担载的锂-碳复合球(LiCNT-Si)。实验发现,纳米硅颗粒的加入不仅提高了锂-碳复合微球的载锂量(10%(质量百分含量)的硅添加量使得比容量从2000 mAh·g~(-1)提高到2600 mAh·g~(-1)),降低了锂的沉积/溶解过电势,有利于引导锂离子回到复合微球内部沉积,大大提高了材料的循环稳定性。同时,担载了纳米硅颗粒的锂-碳复合球也继承了锂-碳复合微球循环过程中体积膨胀小,不长枝晶的优点。而且添加的纳米硅颗粒还填充了Li-CNT微球中的孔隙,减少了电解液渗入复合微球内部腐蚀里面的金属锂,进一步提高了材料的库仑效率。以添加10%硅的锂碳复合材料作为负极,与商用磷酸铁锂正极组成全电池,在常规酯类电解液中1C (0.7 mA·cm~(-2))条件下能稳定循环900圈以上,库仑效率为96.7%,大大高于同样条件下测得的Li-CNT复合材料(90.1%)和金属锂片(79.3%)的库仑效率。因此,这种通过简单的熔融浸渍法即可制备的,具有高的比容量和长的循环稳定性的锂硅-碳复合材料具有较大的潜能成为高能量密度电池的负极材料,尤其适用于锂硫、锂氧这种正极不含锂源的电池体系。     

Recent Progress on Modification Strategies of Alloy-based Anode Materials for Alkali-ion Batteries

Alkali-ion batteries,including lithium-ion batteries(LIBs),sodium-ion batteries(NIBs)and potassium-ion batteries(KIBs),with alloy-based anodes exhibit huge potential in high energy density due to the natural abundance,high theoretical capacity as well as suitable operating voltages.However,the practical application is severely hindered by the huge volume variation based on the alloying mechanism and inferior conductivity,especially for red phosphorus(P)and silicon(Si)anodes,which induces poor rate capability and fast capacity decay.Herein,we will briefly review fundamental advantages and challenges of alloy-based anode materials.Then,effective modification strategies of alloy-based anode materials for boosting the performance would be emphasized and discussed.Finally,we will share our perspectives and some opportunities to obtain high-performance alloy-based anode materials for further application.     

Integration of Graphite and Silicon Anodes for the Commercialization of High‐Energy Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Silicon is considered a most promising anode material for overcoming the theoretical capacity limit of carbonaceous anodes. The use of nanomethods has led to significant progress being made with Si anodes to address the severe volume change during (de)lithiation. However, less progress has been made in the practical application of Si anodes in commercial lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). The drastic increase in the energy demands of diverse industries has led to the co‐utilization of Si and graphite resurfacing as a commercially viable method for realizing high energy. Herein, we highlight the necessity for the co‐utilization of graphite and Si for commercialization and discuss the development of graphite/Si anodes. Representative Si anodes used in graphite‐blended electrodes are covered and a variety of strategies for building graphite/Si composites are organized according to their synthetic methods. The criteria for the co‐utilization of graphite and Si are systematically presented. Finally, we provide suggestions for the commercialization of graphite/Si combinations.     

Carbon and Carbon Hybrid Materials as Anodes for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted much attention for application in large‐scale grid energy storage owing to the abundance and low cost of sodium sources. However, low energy density and poor cycling life hinder practical application of SIBs. Recently, substantial efforts have been made to develop electrode materials to push forward large‐scale practical applications. Carbon materials can be directly used as anode materials, and they show excellent sodium storage performance. Additionally, designing and constructing carbon hybrid materials is an effective strategy to obtain high‐performance anodes for SIBs. In this review, we summarize recent research progress on carbon and carbon hybrid materials as anodes for SIBs. Nanostructural design to enhance the sodium storage performance of anode materials is discussed, and we offer some insight into the potential directions of and future high‐performance anode materials for SIBs.     

Si-O-C骨架支撑型高循环性能锂离子电池硅基负极材料

通过经济有效的方法制备得到一种具有长循环寿命的高效稳定性硅/硅氧碳/无定形碳的复合负极材料结构. 在这种结构中,以具有稳定化学性能的硅氧碳结构作为骨架,来支撑和隔离硅纳米颗粒结构. 材料中包含的无定形碳组分可提高硅/硅氧碳结构的电导性能. 这种复合负极结构在0.3C电流充放电情况下,不仅能发挥出637.3 mAh·g^-1的比容量,而且在经过100 周的充放电循环后,其容量保持率也达到86%. 这种新型硅基负极材料的设计为其他功能材料的设计提供了一种潜在可能的方法.     

磷烯包覆的高性能硅基锂离子电池负极材料

Si-based anode materials in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) suffer from severe volume expansion/contraction during repetitive discharge/charge, which results in the pulverization of active materials, continuous growth of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layers, loss of electrical conduction, and, eventually, battery failure. Herein, we present unprecedented low-content phosphorene (single-layer black phosphorus) encapsulation of silicon particles as an effective method for improving the electrochemical performance of Si-based LIB anodes. The incorporation of low phosphorene amounts (1%, mass fraction) into Si anodes effectively suppresses the detrimental effects of volume expansion and SEI growth, preserving the structural integrity of the electrode during cycling and achieving enhanced Coulombic efficiency, capacity retention, and cycling stability for Li-ion storage. Thus, the developed method can also be applied to other battery materials with high energy density exhibiting substantial volume changes.     

聚吡咯改性电沉积Sn负极材料的电化学性能

本工作采用直接在铜箔表面恒电流电沉积的方法制备Sn负极,以NiCl₂为沉积电解液的添加剂得到了Sn空心管,提高了单纯Sn负极的可逆比容量,60次循环后仍剩余184.3 mAh·g^-1。进一步引入聚吡咯进行表面修饰改性,有效地提高了沉积电极的电化学循环性能,60次循环后仍剩余440.6 mAh·g^-1可逆比容量,同时具备良好的循环稳定性。沉积电极可直接用作锂离子电池负极,无需任何粘结剂,电极装配操作简单。     

Electrolyte Chemistry Enables Simultaneous Stabilization of Potassium Metal and Alloying Anode for Potassium‐Ion Batteries

Alloying anodes are promising high‐capacity electrode materials for K‐ion batteries (KIBs). However, KIBs based on alloying anodes suffer from rapid capacity decay due to the instability of K metal and large volume expansion of alloying anodes. Herein, the effects of salts and solvents on the cycling stability of KIBs based on a typical alloying anode such as amorphous red phosphorus (RP) are investigated, and the potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (KFSI) salt‐based carbonate electrolyte is versatile to achieve simultaneous stabilization of K metal and RP electrodes for highly stable KIBs. This salt‐solvent complex with a moderate solvation energy can alleviate side reactions between K metal and the electrolyte and facilitate K⁺ ion diffusion/desolvation. Moreover, robust SEI layers that form on K metal and RP electrodes can suppress K dendrite growth and resist RP volume change. This strategy of electrolyte regulation can be applicable to other alloying anodes for high‐performance KIBs.