Silicon-based anode materials have been widely discussed by researchers because of its high theoretical capacity, abundant resources and low working voltage platform,which has been considered to be the most promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. However,there are some problems existing in the silicon-based anode materials greatly limit its wide application: during the process of charge/discharge, the materials are prone to about 300% volume expansion, which will resultin huge stress-strain and crushing or collapse on the anods; in the process of lithium removal, there is some reaction between active material and current collector, which creat an increase in the thickness of the solid phase electrolytic layer(SEI film); during charging and discharging, with the increase of cycle times, cracks will appear on the surface of silicon-based anode materials, which will cause the batteries life to decline. In order to solve these problems, firstly, we summarize the design of porous structure of nanometer sized silicon-based materials and focus on the construction of three-dimensional structural silicon-based materials, which using natural biomass, nanoporous carbon and metal organic framework as structural template. The three-dimensional structure not only increases the channel of lithium-ion intercalation and the rate of ion intercalation, but also makes the structure more stable than one-dimensional or two-dimensional. Secondly, the Si/C composite, SiOx composite and alloying treatment can improve the volume expansion effection, increase the rate of lithium-ion deblocking and optimize the electrochemical performance of the material. The composite materials are usually coated with elastic conductive materials on the surface to reduce the stress, increase the conductivity and improve the electrochemical performance. Finally, the future research direction of silicon-based anode materials is prospected.
Performance optimization of freestanding MWCNT-LiFePO4 sheets as cathodes for improved specific capacity of lithium-ion batteries