The Development of Si Anode Materials by Nanotechnology for Lithium-ion Battery

¹ School of Electronic and Engineering (National Exemplary School of Microelectronics), UESTC, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, P.R. China
² Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M139PL, UK
³ School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xi’an, Shanxi, 710126, P.R. China

^† These authors contributed equally.
^* Corresponding author’s e-mail:
^a 2018021404002@std.uestc.edu.cn,
^b mingzhao.li@student.manchester.ac.uk,
^c zyusun@stu.xidian.edu.cn

Abstract

Nowadays, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are applied in many fields for their high energy density, low cost, and long cycle life, highly appreciated in a commercial application. Anode materials, a vital factor contributing to high specific capacity, have caught great attention in next-generation LIBs development. Silicon (Si) has been generally considered one of the best substitutes for the commercial carbon-based anodes of lithium-ion batteries due to its extremely high theoretical capacity, excellent charge-discharge performance, and low cost compared with other anode materials. In this review, various silicon-based materials, including nanostructured silicon and silicon composite materials, are summarized, and both advantages and challenges are analyzed. The article emphasizes the remarkable electrochemical characteristics and significant improvement of battery performance by applying nanostructure and silicon composites conjugates. Besides, the challenges and outlook on the nanostructure design of Si and silicon composites are presented.