Optimization of Si-containing and SiO based Anodes with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for High Energy Density Applications

Lithium-ion batteries require a high energy density when being used in applications such as electric vehicles or portable electronics. This can be achieved on a large scale by improving packaging and implementation, or on a material scale by selecting more energy dense electrode active material. Silicon can be used as a replacement for graphite in negative electrodes if the detrimental volume expansions can be contained. These volume expansions cause continuous mechanical degradation capacity loss leading to short lifetimes that do not meet industry standards. These high-capacity high volume expansion materials such as silicon and SiO must be used in conjunction with more stable electrode materials like graphite to reduce the mechanical degradation caused by volume change. Single-walled carbon nanotubes are shown to be a simple yet effective drop in addition to improve electrical connectivity and increase capacity retention in these silicon-based composite negative electrodes. This added particle interconnectivity from the high tensile strength carbon nanotubes allows for the use of simple binders such as CMC/SBR to create composite electrodes with competitive performance without the use of expensive polymers or complex nanostructures.