Economical Synthesis and Promotion of the Electrochemical Performance of Silicon Nanowires as Anode Material in Li-Ion Batteries

Silicon is considered as one of the most promising anodes alternative, with a low voltage and a high theoretical specific capacity of ~4200 mAh/g, for graphite in lithium-ion batteries. However, the large volume change and resulting interfacial changes of the silicon during cycling cause unsatisfactory cycle performance and hinder its commercialization. In this study, electrochemical performance and interfacial properties of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) which are prepared by the Cu-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition method, with 1 M LiPF6/EC + DMC (1:1 v/v) containing 2 wt % or no vinylene carbonate (VC) electrolyte, are investigated by using different electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques, i.e., cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. It is shown that the addition of VC has greatly enhanced the cycling performance and rate capability of SiNWs and should have an impact on the wide utilization of silicon anode materials in Li-ion batteries.