Interface Engineering of Styrenic Polymer Grafted Porous Micro-Silicon/Polyaniline Composite for Enhanced Lithium Storage Anode Materials

Si anode materials are promising candidates for next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs) because of their high capacities. However, expansion and low conductivity result in rapid performance degradation. Herein, we present a facile one-pot method for pyrolyzing polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) polymers at low temperatures (≤400 °C) to form a thin carbonaceous layer on the silicon surface. Specifically, micron silicon (mSi) was transformed into porous mSi (por-mSi) by a metal-assisted chemical etching method, and a phenyl-based thin film derived from the thermolysis of PSS formed a strong Si–C/Si–O–C covalent bonding with the Si surface, which helped maintain stable cycle performance by improving the interfacial properties of mSi. Additionally, PSS-grafted por-mSi (por-mSi@PSS) anode was coated with polyaniline (PANI) for endowing additional electrical conductivity. The por-mSi@PSS/PANI anode demonstrated a high reversible capacity of ~1500 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 after 100 cycles, outperforming or matching the performance reported in recent studies. A thin double layer composed of phenyl moieties and a conductive PANI coating improved the stability of Si-based anodes and provided an effective pathway for Li+ ion transport to the Si interface, suggesting that polymer-modified Si anodes hold significant promise for advanced LIB applications.