Si@SiO /Ag composite anodes with high initial coulombic efficiency derive from recyclable silicon cutting waste

• A novel and promising method to fabricate Si@SiO x /Ag composite was proposed. • The properties of the electrochemical Li + store/release behavior were clarified. • The Si@SiO x /Ag exhibits an initial Coulombic efficiency as high as 89.9% • The Si@SiO x /Ag as LIBs anodes exhibit an excellent electrochemical performance. The booming photovoltaic industry generates large amounts of micron-sized silicon cutting waste every year, which brings a significant challenge to both environmental protection and solar cells development. In this work, low-cost silicon cutting waste was used as raw material for silicon-based anodes Nano-spherical structure Si@SiO x with a smooth surface were first synthesized via DC thermal plasma, then were composited with nano-silver and obtained the spherical Si@SiO x /Ag nanocomposites anode. During charging and discharging, the unique spherical core–shell structure relieves the stress concentration in silicon and greatly improves its stability. With the addition of Ag, both the electrical conductivity of the composite and the mobility of lithium ions are greatly improved. The Si@SiO x /Ag nanocomposite anode has an outstanding initial coulombic efficiency of 89.9%, as well as a large initial discharge capacity of 2919 mAh/g at 500 mA/g. Even after 200 charge–discharge cycles, the reversible capacity is still over 1000 mAh/g. This study develops the feasibility of making high initial coulombic efficiency silicon anode materials for lithium-ion batteries from silicon cutting waste.