Lithium ion battery anodes using Si-Fe based nanocomposite structures

Due to its extremely high capacity, silicon (Si) is a potentially very useful anode material for lithium (Li) ion batteries. The key aim in the application of Si-based nanostructures to Li ion battery anodes is to improve their cyclic properties. To minimize volume expansion during the insertion and extraction of Li ions, we synthesized unique Si-iron (Fe) based nanomaterials connected by Ge nanostructures using chemical vapor deposition. The Si-Fe based new nanostructures showed a maximum capacity of about 689 mAh/g and stable cyclic properties. These properties are due to their unique nano-composite structures composed by Si and metals.