Issue 11, 2016

Mesoporous SiO2/carbon hollow spheres applied towards a high rate-performance Li-battery anode

Abstract

Mesoporous SiO2/C hollow spheres have been successfully synthesized via a one-step template process and carbonization of a mesoporous SiO2/poly(ethylene oxide)/phenolic formaldehyde resin hollow nanocomposite, and then evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The continuous carbon framework significantly led the SiO2/C hollow spheres to reach a high conductivity (3.9 × 10−4 S cm−1) compared with the SiO2 hollow spheres (<10−9 S cm−1), furthermore, the unique hollow nanostructure with a large volume interior and numerous mesopores plugged with carbon in the silica shell, could accommodate the volume variation and improve the structural strain for Li ion conduction, as well as allow rapid access of Li ions during charge–discharge cycling. For battery applications, at 100 mA g−1 charge/discharge rates, the reversible capacity of this mesoporous SiO2/C anode (624 mA h g−1) is over ten times higher than that of the SiO2 anode (61 mA h g−1). More specifically, even under the high discharge rate of 3000 mA g−1, this SiO2/C hollow nanostructure exhibits a specific capacity of 582 mA h g−1, featuring a high retention of more than 90% of its low discharge rate of 100 mA g−1. This demonstrates that the effective conduction of electrons through the continuous carbon network and the fast transport of Li ions through the nanoscale SiO2 shell significantly contribute to the high-rate performance.

Graphical abstract: Mesoporous SiO2/carbon hollow spheres applied towards a high rate-performance Li-battery anode

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
11 May 2016
Accepted
04 Sep 2016
First published
21 Sep 2016

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2016,3, 1398-1405

Mesoporous SiO2/carbon hollow spheres applied towards a high rate-performance Li-battery anode

C. Wang, K. Liu, W. Chen, J. Zhou, H. Lin, C. Hsu and P. Kuo, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2016, 3, 1398 DOI: 10.1039/C6QI00125D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements