Unlocking the potential of silicon anodes in lithium-ion batteries: A claw-inspired binder with synergistic interface bonding
Jun Shen,
Shilin Zhang,
Haoli Wang,
Renxin Wang,
Yingying Hu,
Yiyang Mao,
Ruilin Wang,
Huihui Zhang,
Yumeng Du,
Yameng Fan,
Yingtang Zhou,
Zaiping Guo,
Baofeng Wang
Affiliations
Jun Shen
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Shilin Zhang
School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia; Corresponding authors.
Haoli Wang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Renxin Wang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Yingying Hu
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Yiyang Mao
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Ruilin Wang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Huihui Zhang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
Yumeng Du
Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2500, Australia
Yameng Fan
Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2500, Australia
Yingtang Zhou
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, National Engineering Research Center for Marine Aquaculture, Marine Science and Technology College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316004, China; Corresponding authors.
Zaiping Guo
School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Baofeng Wang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China; Corresponding authors.
Binders play a crucial role in enhancing the cycling stability of silicon anodes in next-generation Li-ion batteries. However, traditional linear polymer binders have difficulty withstanding the volume expansion of silicon during cycling. Herein, inspired by the fact that animals’ claws can grasp objects firmly, a claw-like taurine-grafted-poly (acrylic acid) binder (Tau-g-PAA) is designed to improve the electrochemical performance of silicon anodes. The synergistic effects of different polar groups (sulfo and carboxyl) in Tau-g-PAA facilitate the formation of multidimensional interactions with silicon nanoparticles and the diffusion of Li ions, thereby greatly improving the stability and rate performance of silicon anodes, which aligns with results from density functional theory (DFT) simulations. As expected, a Tau-g-PAA/Si electrode exhibits excellent cycling performance with a high specific capacity of 1003 mA h g−1 at 1 C (1 C = 4200 mA h g−1) after 300 cycles, and a high rate performance. The design strategy of using polar small molecule-grafted polymers to create claw-like structures could inspire the development of better binders for silicon-based anodes.
