Facile Synthesis of Si@SiC Composite as an Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Here, we propose a simple method for direct synthesis of a Si@SiC composite derived from a SiO2@C precursor via a Mg thermal reduction method as an anode material for Li-ion batteries. Owing to the extremely high exothermic reaction between SiO2 and Mg, along with the presence of carbon, SiC can be spontaneously produced with the formation of Si. The synthesized Si@SiC was composed of well-mixed SiC and Si nanocrystallites. The SiC content of the Si@SiC was adjusted by tuning the carbon content of the precursor. Among the resultant Si@SiC materials, the Si@SiC-0.5 sample, which was produced from a precursor containing 4.37 wt % of carbon, exhibits excellent electrochemical characteristics, such as a high first discharge capacity of 1642 mAh g-1 and 53.9% capacity retention following 200 cycles at a rate of 0.1C. Even at a high rate of 10C, a high reversible capacity of 454 mAh g-1 was obtained. Surprisingly, at a fixed discharge rate of C/20, the Si@SiC-0.5 electrode delivered a high capacity of 989 mAh g-1 at a charge rate of 20C. In addition, a full cell fabricated by coupling a lithiated Si@SiC-0.5 anode and a LiCoO2 cathode exhibits excellent cyclability over 50 cycles. This outstanding electrochemical performance of Si@SiC-0.5 is attributed to the SiC phase, which acts as a buffer layer that stabilizes the nanostructure of the Si active phase and enhances the electrical conductivity of the electrode.