In-Situ Preparation of Si@C Composite Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

A Si@C nanocomposite material is prepared via in-situ polymerization of acrylonitrile on the surface of silicon nanoparticles, and followed by carbonization in an inert atmosphere. The obtained Si@C nanocomposite material is composed of a nanosized Si core and a casting carbon shell. Its structure and electrochemical properties are characterized by XRD, TG, Raman, SEM, TEM and charge-discharge performance test. The results obtained in this study show that Si@C nanocomposite is coated by a layer of amorphous carbon which provides a conductive matrix and relieves the dramatically morphological changes of Si upon lithium insertion and extraction. The composite exhibits good capacity retention for use as anode in lithium-ion batteries. This study also paves a facile and industrial scalable way to prepare core/shell structure for high performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.