Problems Facing Silicon Carbon Material System
Silicon possesses an ultra-high theoretical capacity for lithium insertion, about tenfold that of carbon material. It has many advantages, including a low price, abundant sources, and a platform charging and discharging similar to graphite. Silicon will, however, produce volume changes of >400% during the deintercalation process of lithium. This will lead to pulverization, loss of contact with the current collector and conductive agents, and rapid degradation of capacity. The SEI membrane on the silicon surface is also a major factor in limiting its cycle life.
The lithium ions diffuse into the silicon particle, reducing the lithium insertion capability of the active materials. Selecting nano-scale silicon particle can also reduce material powdering. This will improve capacity. Nanoparticles, however, are easily agglomerated, and they have little effect on the thickening SEI films. The silicon anode technology is focused on two key problems: “volume growth” and “conductivity”, which are both present during the charge-discharge process. As far as anodes are concerned, the carbon materials used in silicon anodes to form conductive and buffer layer are crucial.
The nanometerization process can enhance the performance of a silicon anode. To reduce the cost of manufacturing nano-silicon material and to stabilize the SEI film on the surface of silicon materials, a variety of materials with good intrinsic conductivity are used to combine with silicon. Carbon materials can be used to improve the conductivity on silicon-based anodes and also stabilize the SEI films.
However, there is no carbon or silicon material that can meet both the energy density and the cycle life requirements for modern electronic devices. The fact that silicon is a member of the same chemical group as carbon, and has similar properties to both, makes it easy to combine them. The composite silicon-carbon can be used to complement both the benefits and shortcomings of each material. It also allows for a material with a much higher gram and cycle capacity.
This is done to increase ionic conductivity rather than electronic conductivity. As the particle size is reduced, the diffusion path of lithium ions is also shortened. This allows the lithium ion to quickly participate in electrochemical reactions, during charge and discharge. For the enhancement of electronic conductivity there are two methods. One involves coatings of conductive material and the second is doping. This is done by producing mixed valence states to improve the intrinsic conductivity.
Carbon-Coated Silicone Material
Scientists developed a plan for using carbon to wrap silicone as a negative electrolyte material in lithium batteries. They did this by synthesizing the electrochemical characteristics of carbon and silica. In experiments, scientists found that silicon coated with carbon can boost the material’s performance. Preparation methods for this material include hydrothermal method CVD, and coating carbon precursors to silicon particles. Researchers created an array of nanowires using metal catalytically etched silicon plates. They then coated the surface with carbon by using carbon aerogel and Pyrolysis. The initial discharge capacity of this nanocomposite was 3,344mAh/g. After 40 cycles, the capacity is 1,326mAh/g. The material’s excellent electrochemical performance is due to its good electronic conductivity, contact between silicon and carbon materials and effective inhibition of volume expansion by the silicon materials.
The Development Prospects
Carbon-coated Silicon material combines high conductivity, stability and silicon’s advantages with high capacity. It is an ideal material for lithium batteries anodes.
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