Embedding silicon nanoparticle in porous carbon fiber for highly stable lithium-ion battery anode

Silicon is considered as one of the best anode material candidates for future lithium-ion battery. The composite engineering of silicon/carbon matrix is of great importance to prevent the silicon volume change. Traditional method of carbon coating although provide mechanical support but the ion transport is blocked by carbons. Herein, we developed a novel nanoporous carbon matrix synthesized by polymer template. The silicon/carbon nanoporous fiber anode shows high stability and high-rate performance thanks to the strong binding and robust porous structure between silicon nanoparticles and carbon matrix. The silicon/carbon nanoporous fiber anode provides high capacity of 992 mAh/g after 200 cycles at 1C rate and stable cycle retention of 84.4% after 200 cycles at 2C rate, and also shows impressive rate capacity retention of 68.2% at 2C compared with 34.5% retention of bare silicon anode.