Low-temperature hydrothermal activation-catalytic carbonation boosting porous Si/SiOx@C composites derived from bamboo leaves for superior lithium storage performance

• Si/SiO x @C derived from Bamboo leaves was synthesized by low-temperature hydrothermal catalytic-activation carbonation. • Si/SiO x @C nanoparticles owned modified amorphous carbon and well-reserved hierarchical porous structure. • The optimal SL-1 achieves high initial reversible capacity and superior rate capability. Silicon oxides are considered as one of the most attractive anode materials of the high energy–density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high theoretical specific capacity and abundant reserves. In this study, a facile low-temperature hydrothermal activation-catalytic carbonation and mild aluminothermic process have been developed to prepare porous Si/SiO x @C composite with fresh bamboo leaves as low-price raw materials. When evaluated as an anode material in LIBs, the as-prepared hierarchical porous Si/SiO x @C composite achieves a high capacity of 1075 mAh g −1 after 350 cycles under the current density of 200 mA g −1 . Moreover, the good dispersion of the Si/SiO x matrix in porous carbon guarantees outstanding rate performances of the electrodes. When the current density increases to 1000 mA g −1 , the considerable specific capacity of 470 mAh g −1 can be obtained after 450 cycles. This strategy opens a new avenue for economical and low-technology demanding preparation of multifunctional biomass-based anode materials for the next generation LIBs.