Clay minerals as multifunctional architectures for lithium-ion battery anodes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Escalating demand for high-performance, low-cost, and sustainable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).
• Need for advanced anode materials to meet energy storage requirements.
• Clay minerals present unique structural and compositional advantages for LIB anodes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the application of clay minerals in LIB anodes.
• To examine direct utilization and clay-to-silicon conversion strategies.
• To highlight clay minerals' role as precursors and templates for anode enhancement.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on clay mineral applications in LIB anodes.
• Analysis of direct utilization of clay minerals as electrode materials.
• Examination of clay-to-silicon conversion for nanostructured silicon fabrication (nanoparticles, nanosheets, nanofibers).

Main Results:

• Clay minerals can be directly used or converted to silicon nanostructures for LIB anodes.
• Clay minerals serve as cost-effective precursors and structural templates.
• Structure-property relationships are elucidated for enhanced anode performance.

Conclusions:

• Clay minerals represent a promising avenue for next-generation LIB anodes.
• Challenges in scalability and interface engineering require further research.
• Future directions include hybrid composites and green processing for sustainable energy storage.