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Mechanically Reinforced Localized Structure Design to Stabilize Solid–Electrolyte Interface of the Composited Electrode of Si Nanoparticles and TiO 2 Nanotubes
Author(s) -
Ge Mingzheng,
Tang Yuxin,
Malyi Oleksandr I.,
Zhang Yanyan,
Zhu Zhiqiang,
Lv Zhisheng,
Ge Xiang,
Xia Huarong,
Huang Jianying,
Lai Yuekun,
Chen Xiaodong
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.202002094
Subject(s) - materials science , electrode , electrolyte , anode , carbon nanotube , silicon , nanoparticle , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , swelling , composite material , layer (electronics) , optoelectronics , chemistry , engineering
Silicon anode with extremely high theoretical specific capacity (≈4200 mAh g −1 ), experiences huge volume changes during Li‐ion insertion and extraction, causing mechanical fracture of Si particles and the growth of a solid–electrolyte interface (SEI), which results in a rapid capacity fading of Si electrodes. Herein, a mechanically reinforced localized structure is designed for carbon‐coated Si nanoparticles (C@Si) via elongated TiO 2 nanotubes networks toward stabilizing Si electrode via alleviating mechanical strain and stabilizing the SEI layer. Benefited from the rational localized structure design, the carbon‐coated Si nanoparticles/TiO 2 nanotubes composited electrode (C@Si/TiNT) exhibits an ideal electrode thickness swelling, which is lower than 1% after the first cycle and increases to about 6.6% even after 1600 cycles. While for traditional C@Si/carbon nanotube composited electrode, the initial swelling ratio is about 16.7% and reaches ≈190% after 1600 cycles. As a result, the C@Si/TiNT electrode exhibits an outstanding capacity of 1510 mAh g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 with high rate capability and long‐time cycling performance with 95% capacity retention after 1600 cycles. The rational design on mechanically reinforced localized structure for silicon electrode will provide a versatile platform to solve the current bottlenecks for other alloyed‐type electrode materials with large volume expansion toward practical applications.