New high-power Si–graphene composite electrode for Li-ion batteries
New high-power Si–graphene composite electrode for Li-ion batteries : Northwestern Univ. researchers report on a new high-power Si–graphene composite anode material for Li-ion batteries in the journal Advanced Energy Materials . With current technology, the capabilities of a lithium-ion battery are limited in two ways: energy capacity is limited by the charge density, and charge rate is limited by the speed at which the lithium ions can make their way from the electrolyte into the anode. The Northwestern research team combined two techniques to combat both these problems. First, to stabilize the silicon in order to maintain maximize charge capacity, they sandwiched clusters of silicon between the graphene sheets. This allowed for a greater number of lithium ions in the electrode while utilizing the flexibility of graphene sheets to accommodate the volume changes of silicon during use. Rendering of the composite electrode with sandwiched Si clusters and in-plane defects. Clic...

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