Si-Mn/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite anodes with enhanced capacity and stability for lithium-ion batteries.
Although Si is a promising high-capacity anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIB), it suffers from capacity fading due to excessively large volumetric changes upon Li insertion. Nanocarbon materials have been used to enhance the cyclic stability of LIB anodes, but they have an inherently low specific capacity. To address these issues, we present a novel ternary nanocomposite of Si, Mn, and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for LIB anodes, in which the Si-Mn alloy offers high capacity characteristics and embedded rGO nanosheets confer structural stability. Si-Mn/rGO ternary nanocomposites were synthesized by mechanical complexation and subsequent thermal reduction of mixtures of Si nanoparticles, MnO2 nanorods, and rGO nanosheets. Resulting ternary nanocomposite anodes displayed a specific capacity of 600 mAh/g with ∼90% capacity retention after 50 cycles at a current density of 100 mA/g. The enhanced performance is attributed to facilitated Li-ion reactions with the MnSi alloy phase and the formation of a structurally reinforced electroconductive matrix of rGO nanosheets. The ternary nanocomposite design paradigm presented in this study can be exploited for the development of high-capacity and long-life anode materials for versatile LIB applications.
School of Chemical Engineering and ‡SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Sungkyunkwan University , Suwon 440-746, Republic of Korea.
A Reum
AR
Park
Jung Sub
JS
Kim
Kwang Su
KS
Kim
Kan
K
Zhang
Juhyun
J
Park
Jong Hyeok
JH
Park
Joong Kee
JK
Lee
Pil J
PJ
Yoo