Abstract
AbstractThe use of silica as a lithium‐ion battery anode material requires a pretreatment step to induce electrochemical activity. The partially reversible electrochemical reduction reaction between silica and lithium has been postulated to produce silicon, which can subsequently reversibly react with lithium, providing stable capacities higher than graphite materials. Up to now, the electrochemical reduction pathway and the nature of the products were unknown, thereby hampering the design, optimization, and wider uptake of silica‐based anodes. Here, the electrochemical reduction pathway is uncovered and, for the first time, elemental silicon is identified as a reduction product. These insights, gleaned from analysis of the current response and capacity increase during reduction, conclusively demonstrated that silica must be reduced to introduce reversible capacity and the highest capacities of 600 mAh g−1 are achieved by using a constant load discharge at elevated temperature. Characterization via total scattering X‐ray pair distribution function analysis reveal the reduction products are amorphous in nature, highlighting the need for local structural methods to uncover vital information often inaccessible by traditional diffraction. These insights contribute toward understanding the electrochemical reduction of silica and can inform the development of pretreatment processes to enable their incorporation into next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries.
Highlights
The use of silica as a lithium-ion battery anode material requires a pretreatment step to induce electrochemical activity
These insights, gleaned from analysis of the curto be overcome include, but are not limited to, the discovery and optimization of advanced anode materials. One such possibility is the use of silica, once thought to be electrochemically inacrent response and capacity increase during reduction, conclusively demon- tive toward lithium due to low ion difstrated that silica must be reduced to introduce reversible capacity and the highest capacities of 600 mAh g−1 are achieved by using a constant load discharge at elevated temperature
This study puts forward a new method to utilize bioinspired silica particles for application as silica-based anodes in lithiumion batteries
Summary
The use of silica as a lithium-ion battery anode material requires a pretreatment step to induce electrochemical activity. Characterization via total scattering X-ray pair distribution function analysis reveal the reduction products are fusivity and further hampered by its electronically insulating nature.[4] recent work[2] has demonstrated that silica can react with lithium in a partially reversible process, with prolonged amorphous in nature, highlighting the need for local structural methods exposure to low voltages These insights contribute toward understanding the electrochemical reduction of silica and can inform the development of pretreatment processes to enable their incorporation into next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Such insights are vital to uncovering the underpinning mechanisms behind electrochemical reduction reactions, paving the way for direct use of silica in LIBs
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