Silicon doped graphene as high cycle performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

Silicon/carbon composite is discovered as a prevailing strategy to prevent the deterioration of silicon material during battery cycling. Herein, we report a novel silicon doped graphene material (SiG) through a facile synthetic route and investigate its application in lithium-ion battery. The microwave irradiation treatment successfully realizes the doping of Si heteroatoms into the graphene lattice, which results in a twice specific capacity of pristine graphene. More importantly, the SiG demonstrates an improvement in Li+ storage and diffusion after cycle, as well as enhanced energy density and power density, which is attributed to the Si heteroatoms dispersed on the surface and a more ordered graphene lattice. Full cell assembled with SiG/LiFePO4 achieves 86% retention after 200 cycles. The novel silicon doping strategy paves the way for the practical application in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.