LiYF4 crystals embedded silicate glass with high electrochemical performance as an anode for lithium-ion batteries

To compensate for the loss of irreversible capacity of lithium-ion batteries, the silicate glass-ceramic containing LiYF ₄ crystals (YLFGC) is prepared by melting-annealing and then used as an active material to improve this situation. At the current density of 50 mA g ⁻¹, the specific capacity is 319.2 mAh g ⁻¹ while the efficiency is 99.4%. LiYF ₄ crystals provide more sites for the lithium-ion storage, on the other hand, it plays a synergistic effect with the disordered glass to promote the intercalation/deintercalation of lithium-ion. At the current density with 1 A g ⁻¹, there occurs an obvious phenomenon of capacity recovery from ca. 100 mAh g ⁻¹ to 200 mAh g ⁻¹ and finally stabilizes at 178 mAh g ⁻¹ with the efficiency stabilizing at 99 %, and the cycling stability of the anode is enhanced by the presence of LiYF ₄ crystals. This study provides a new material for improving the performance of anode for lithium-ion batteries.