AUTHOR=Wu Hao , Jiang Yingying , Liu Wenjun , Wen Hong , Dong Shihui , Chen Huan , Su Liwei , Wang Lianbang 

TITLE=Engineering Bamboo Leaves Into 3D Macroporous Si@C Composites for Stable Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.882681

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.882681

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=Silicon is considered as the most promising candidate of anodes for next generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its natural abundance and low Li-uptake potential. Building a porous structure would alleviate the volume variation and particle fracture of silicon anodes during cycling. However, the common approaches to fabricate porous silicon are complex, costly, and high energy-consuming. Herein, bamboo leaves (BLs) are used as a sustainable and abundant resource to produce porous silicon via a scalable magnesiothermic reduction method. The obtained silicon inherits the natural porous structure of the BLs with three-dimensional (3D) interconnected network, leading to superior electrochemical performance with efficient electron/ion transport and cycling stability. The porous Si@C composite anodes deliver a high capacity of 1247.7 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A g−1 with a capacity retention as high as 98.8%. Furthermore, the rate capabilities of the Si@C composites are enhanced by conformal carbon coating, which enables the anode to deliver a capacity of 538.2 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 4.0 A g−1 after 1000 deep cycles. Morphology characterization verifies the structural integrity of the porous Si@C composite anodes. This work demonstrated herein provides a simple, economical, and scalable route for the industrial production of porous Si anode materials utilizing BLs as a sustainable source for high-performance LIBs.