Facile fabrication of Si mesoporous nanowires for high-capacity and long-life lithium storage

Abstract

Si has the second highest theoretical capacity among all the known anode materials for lithium ion batteries, whereas it is vulnerable to pulverization and crumbling upon lithiation/delithiation. Herein, Si mesoporous nanowires prepared by a scalable and cost-effective procedure are reported for the first time. Such nanowire morphology and mesoporous structure can effectively buffer the huge lithiation-induced volume expansion of Si, therefore contributing to excellent cycling stability and high-rate capability. Reversible capacities of 1826.8 and 737.4 mA h g⁻¹ can be obtained at 500 mA g⁻¹ and a very high current density of 10 A g⁻¹, respectively. After 1000 cycles at 2500 mA g⁻¹, this product still maintains a high capacity of 643.5 mA h g⁻¹.