Issue 41, 2024, Issue in Progress

Graphene-wrapped yolk–shell of silica-cobalt oxide as high-performing anode for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Silica (SiO2) shows promise as anode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its low cost, comparable lithium storage discharge potential and high theoretical capacity (approximately 1961 mA h g−1). However, it is plagued by issues of low electrochemical activity, low conductivity and severe volume expansion. To address these challenges, we initially coat SiO2 with CoO, followed by introducing SiO2@CoO into graphene sheets to fabricate an anode composite material (SiO2@CoO/GS) with uniformly dispersed particles and a 3D graphene wrapped yolk–shell structure. The coating of CoO on SiO2 converted the negative surface charge of SiO2 to positive, enabling effective electrostatic interactions between SiO2@CoO and graphene oxide sheets, which provided essential prerequisites for synthesizing composite materials with uniformly dispersed particles and good coating effects. Furthermore, the Co-metal formed during the charge–discharge process can act as a catalyst and electron transfer medium, activating the lithium storage activity of SiO2 and enhancing the conductivity of the electrode, conclusively achieving a higher lithium storage capacity. Ultimately, due to the activation of SiO2 by Co-metal during cycling and the excellent synergistic effect between SiO2@CoO and graphene, SiO2@CoO/GS delivers a high reversible capacity of 738 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 200 mA g−1. The product also demonstrates excellent rate performance with a reversible capacity of 206 mA h g−1 at a high specific current of 12.8 A g−1. The outstanding rate performance of SiO2@CoO/GS may be ascribed to the pseudo-capacitive contribution at high specific current upon cycling.

Graphical abstract: Graphene-wrapped yolk–shell of silica-cobalt oxide as high-performing anode for lithium-ion batteries

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Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Jun 2024
Accepted
13 Sep 2024
First published
23 Sep 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2024,14, 30102-30109

Graphene-wrapped yolk–shell of silica-cobalt oxide as high-performing anode for lithium-ion batteries

J. Ma, J. Yong, X. Li, H. Zhang, Y. Li, H. Niu, S. Yang, Y. He and Z. Ma, RSC Adv., 2024, 14, 30102 DOI: 10.1039/D4RA04236K

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