Graphene/nanosized silicon composites for lithium battery anodes with improved cycling stability

Graphene/nanosized silicon composites were prepared and used for lithium battery anodes. Two types of graphene samples were used and their composites with nanosized silicon were prepared in different ways. In the first method, graphene oxide (GO) and nanosized silicon particles were homogeneously mixed in aqueous solution and then the dry samples were annealed at 500 °C to give thermally reduced GO and nanosized silicon composites. In the second method, the graphene sample was prepared by fast heat treatment of expandable graphite at 1050 °C and the graphene/nanosized silicon composites were then prepared by mechanical blending. In both cases, homogeneous composites were formed and the presence of graphene in the composites has been proved to effectively enhance the cycling stability of silicon anode in the lithium-ion batteries. The significant enhancement on cycling stability could be ascribed to the high conductivity of the graphene materials and absorption of volume changes of silicon by graphene sheets during the lithiation/delithiation process. In particular, the composites using thermally expanded graphite exhibited not only more excellent cycling performance, but also higher specific capacity of 2753 mAh/g because the graphene sheets prepared by this method have fewer structural defects than thermally reduced GO.