Upcycling Photovoltaic Silicon Waste Into Cost-Effectiveness Si/C Anode Materials

Abstract

While silicon/carbon (Si/C) is considered one of the most promising anode materials for the next generation of high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the industrialization of Si/C anodes is hampered by high-cost and low product yield. Herein, a high-yield strategy is developed in which photovoltaic waste silicon is converted to cost-effective graphitic Si/C composites (G-Si@C) for LIBs. The introduction of a binder improves the dispersion and compatibility of silicon and graphite, enhances particle sphericity, and significantly reduces the loss rate of the spray prilling process (from about 25% to 5%). As an LIB anode, the fabricated G-Si@C composites exhibit a capacity of 605 mAh g⁻¹ after 1200 cycles. The cost of manufacturing Si/C anode materials has been reduced to approximately $7.47 kg⁻¹, which is close to that of commercial graphite anode materials ($5.0 kg⁻¹), and significantly lower than commercial Si/C materials (ca. $20.74 kg⁻¹). Moreover, the G-Si@C material provides approximately 81.0 Ah/$ of capacity, which exceeds the current best commercial graphite anodes (70.0 Ah/$) and Si/C anodes (48.2 Ah/$). The successful implementation of this pathway will significantly promote the industrialization of high-energy-density Si/C anode materials.

Keywords

cost-effectiveness / electrochemical mechanism / high-yield / Photovoltaic silicon waste / Si/C anodes

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