Conductive Polymer Frameworks in Silicon Anodes for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries

Silicon anode is endowed with a high theoretical specific capacity. Unfortunately, its applicability in lithium-ion batteries is hindered by several inevitable problems, which are associated with volume changes (i.e., particle pulverization, solid electrolyte interphase layer instability, and electrode failure) and low electrical conductivity of silicon. Among the accessible strategies to enhance the anode performance, conductive polymer frameworks have been envisioned as solutions to overcome the problems. Conductive polymers can jointly bind and electronically connect silicon particles to regulate extensive volume changes while providing pathways for charge transport in a low-cost fashion. This review starts with a detailed summary of conductive polymer framework features in silicon anodes. The main section presents an in-depth discussion and current advancements of the most widely used conductive polymers in silicon anodes [i.e., polyfluorene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)] and several other conductive polymers. In the penultimate part, we review the performance evaluation of silicon anodes with five main conductive polymers and provide perspectives on future challenges of batteries from the standpoint of device manufacturing scale-up. In the final part, we briefly summarize the discussed advancements of conductive polymer frameworks in silicon anode for lithium-ion batteries.