Silicon-based anodes towards enhanced cycling efficiencies for next-generation lithium-ion batteries

Silicon, a cheap and abundant material, is widely considered to be the most promising anode material for Li-ion batteries (LiBs) due to its high theoretical specific capacity and low discharge potential. However, silicon-based anodes do have crucial shortcomings like its cycling instability and low conductivity which hinder its practical application. The compositing of silicon and carbon nanomaterials has been shown in literature to be an effective strategy to stabilize the silicon active material while still retaining most of its potential. This review highlights these problems, the various combinations of silicon and carbon nanomaterials presented in literature, and how effective these designs are at overcoming these hurdles toward commercialization. Additionally, challenges remain with regards to the industrialization of silicon-carbon nanocomposites as traditional methods applied in the lab are inefficient, expensive, and lack scalability. Therefore, this review will pay close attention to facile, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and potentially scalable fabrication methods. This review found a rising trend in works that include, at least, some aspect of industrialization with regards to silicon-carbon nanocomposite synthesis methodology. This trend has been accompanied by a more recent rise in publications on the optimization of silicon-carbon nanocomposite anodes. This could point to the practical application and commercialization of these nanocomposites as next-generation, high-performance LiB anodes could arrive sooner than expected. Based on these findings and other observations made in literature, this review will make recommendations on future research efforts.