Boron heteroatom‐doped silicon–carbon peanut‐like composites enables long life lithium‐ion batteries

Abstract Carbon coated Si core–shell structures have been proposed to solve the adverse effects of Si‐based anode. However, designing ideal core–shell architecture with excellent surface and interface properties is still a significant challenge. Herein, a novel peanut‐like structure of B‐doped silicon/carbon nanoparticle (Si@B‐C) synthesized by sol–gel process and subsequent thermal reduction is reported. The peanut‐like Si@B‐C electrode demonstrates a superior cyclability of 534 mAh·g −1 after 1000 cycles at high current density of 1000 mA·g −1 . The exceptional electrochemical performance is attributed to the boric acid‐induced highly interconnected peanut‐like structure and boron heteroatom framework could provide a continuous electron pathway to reduce the irreversible lithium ion loss during rapid cycling. This work provides insight into the development of the heteroatom‐doped Si‐based anodes with stable cycling performance for LIBs.