Preparation and lithium storage performances of g-C₃N₄/Si nanocomposites as anode materials for lithium-ion battery

Abstract

As the anode material of lithium-ion battery, silicon-based materials have a high theoretical capacity, but their volume changes greatly in the charging and discharging process. To ameliorate the volume expansion issue of silicon-based anode materials, g-C₃N₄/Si nanocomposites are prepared by using the magnesium thermal reduction technique. It is well known that g-C₃N₄/Si nanocomposites can not only improve the electronic transmission ability, but also ameliorate the physical properties of the material for adapting the stress and strain caused by the volume expansion of silicon in the lithiation and delithiation process. When g-C₃N₄/Si electrode is evaluated, the initial discharge capacity of g-C₃N₄/Si nanocomposites is as high as 1033.3 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g, and its reversible capacity is maintained at 548 mAh/g after 400 cycles. Meanwhile, the improved rate capability is achieved with a relatively high reversible specific capacity of 218 mAh/g at 2.0 A/g. The superior lithium storage performances benefit from the unique g-C₃N₄/Si nanostructure, which improves electroconductivity, reduces volume expansion, and accelerates lithium-ion transmission compared to pure silicon.

Key words： magnesium thermal reduction; g-C₃N₄/Si nanocomposites; volume expansion; electroconductivity; lithium-ion battery

Acknowledgment

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51672114 and 51603091), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20181469), the Joint Open Fund of Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Ecological Building Material and Environmental Protection Equipment and Key Laboratory for Advanced Technology in Environmental Protection of Jiangsu Province, the Open Project of Key Laboratory for Ecological-Environment Materials of Jiangsu Province (JH201815), and the Foundation from Marine Equipment and Technology Institute for Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, China (HZ20190004).

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