In Situ Hydrogel Polymerization to Form a Flexible Polysaccharide Synergetic Binder Network for Stabilizing SiO/C...

Today, the commercial application of silicon oxides (SiO, 1 < x < 2) in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) still faces the challenge of rapid performance degradation. In this work, by integrating hydrothermal and physicomechanical processes, water-soluble locust bean gum (LBG) and xanthan gum (XG) are utilized to in situ form an LBG@XG binder network to improve the performance of SiO/C anodes. As a synergy of LBG and XG polysaccharides in hydrogel polymerization, LBG@XG can tightly wrap around SiO/C particles to prevent plate damage. The flexible SiO/C anode with the LBG@XG binder exhibits capacity retentions of 74.1% and 76.4% after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g^-1 and 1 A g^-1, respectively. The full battery capacity remains stable for 100 cycles at 1 C and the rate performance is excellent (103 mAh g^-1 at 3 C). This LBG@XG is demonstrated to be highly electronegative and has a strong attraction to SiO/C particles, thereby reducing the expansion and increasing the stability of the SiO/C anodes when coupled with the flexible binder network. In addition to the promising LBG@XG binder, this work also provides a research idea for developing green water-based binders suitable for application in the SiO/C anodes of LIBs.