Locally Ordered Graphitized Carbon Coating Enables Recycled Microsized Silicon as High-Performance Anodes.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Microsized silicon (m-Si) is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its high capacity and low cost.
• Particle fragmentation during cycling limits the practical application of m-Si anodes.
• Existing carbon coating methods require improvement for scalable and high-performance m-Si anodes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a cost-effective and scalable method for producing high-performance m-Si anodes.
• To enhance the electrochemical stability and capacity retention of m-Si anodes.
• To utilize photovoltaic waste-derived m-Si for sustainable battery production.

Main Methods:

• A novel locally ordered graphitized carbon coating strategy was applied to m-Si particles.
• Electrochemical performance was evaluated using coin cells and full cells (NCM811//Si@t-C).
• Material characterization focused on the structure and properties of the carbon coating.

Main Results:

• The m-Si/carbon material achieved a high capacity of 3203 mA h g^-1 at 0.2 A g^-1 and 1532 mA h g^-1 at 4 A g^-1.
• The full cell demonstrated excellent capacity retention of 95.13% over 100 cycles.
• The graphitized carbon layer effectively buffered volume changes and improved Li⁺ diffusion.

Conclusions:

• The proposed graphitized carbon coating strategy significantly enhances the performance of m-Si anodes.
• This approach offers a scalable and cost-effective solution for industrial m-Si anode production.
• The method promotes the application of m-Si in next-generation lithium-ion batteries, reducing overall battery costs.