title: Facile conductive bridges formed between silicon nanoparticles inside hollow carbon nanofibers.
abstract: This paper reports on a simple and effective method for improving the electrochemical performance of silicon nanoparticle-core/carbon-shell (Si-core/C-shell) nanofibers. Instead of increasing the encapsulation amount of Si nanoparticles, additional conductive paths between the Si nanoparticles were formed by incorporating a small percentage of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) (e.g., 5 wt% with respect to Si) into the Si nanoparticle core. The electrical conductivity of a single Si-core/C-shell nanofiber was measured by a four-point probe using four nano-manipulators, which showed a more than five times increase according to MWNT addition. A galvanostatic charge-discharge test demonstrated that a small amount of MWNTs greatly improved the electrochemical performance of the Si-core/C-shell nanofibers (e.g., a 25.1% increase in the Li-ion storage capability) due to the enhanced participation of Si through the additional conductive paths formed between the Si nanoparticles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Research Institute of Advanced Materials, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byoung-Sun
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seoung-Bum
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Jong-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Kyu-Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Geunsung
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Se-Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyu Hwan
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jae-Pyoung
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Woong-Ryeol
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D002244:Carbon; D008094:Lithium; D012825:Silicon