07 April 2013

University of Houston Presents Improving Energy Density and Cycle of Life of Silicon Anodes with Nanotechnology


The University of Houston presented its research on the improvemen of energy density and cycle of life of silicon anodes. It was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society as part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. The abstract of the research follows:

High energy density silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries: Combining hollow nanospheres with conductive polymer binder

Yan Yao, University of Houston
Phone: 713-743-4432
Email: yyao4@uh.edu



The alloying reaction of Si with lithium causes significant volume expansion during lithiation process and lead to the fracture of Si particles because of huge lithiation-induced mechanical stress. Various approaches with different focus, such as nanoengieering Si anode structures, stabilizing solid-electrolyte interphases between Si and organic electrolyte, and synthesizing new polymer binders to accommodate the volume change, have been shown successfully improving the energy density and cycle life, bringing Si anodes one step closer into practical Li-ion batteries. In this preprint, we show that both the active hollow nanospheres Si anode structure and the inactive conductive polymer binder have significant impact on the anode cycling performance. Combining the hollow nanospheres with conductive polymer binder, long cycle life Si anode is demonstrated at high energy density.

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