Electrochemical Performance According to High-Capacity Silicon Active Materials in Lithium Ion Batteries

Carbon has been used as stable anode material for lithium-ion secondary batteries. However, instead of graphite with a low capacity, a new material with a high capacity that can increase the energy density per volume or mass of a lithium ion secondary battery is required. Among the various candidates, silicon has a high capacity of about 4000 mAh/g, making it a major research subject. Graphite is a combination of 6 carbon atoms and 1 lithium ion, but silicon accepts 4.4 lithium ions per atom, resulting in high volume expansion. In this way, excessive volume expansion causes cracks in the electrode and electrochemical disconnection, which eventually leads to a decrease in battery capacity. The large volume change and low electrical conductivity of silicon limits its application to anodes. Potential silicon-based materials include silicon oxide-based (SiOx), carbon-silicon composite (SiC), and pure silicon (pure Si). Silicon-based oxides have the advantages of high capacity and stable battery life, but have the limitations of low initial efficiency and low electrical conductivity. Carbon-composite silicon has high initial efficiency, high ionic conductivity, high capacity, and can be applied in the same slurry system as existing graphite electrodes. Selection of a stable binder and conductive material is important for active use of silicon-based materials. Promising binders include polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyacrylic acid (PAA), and polyacrylamide (PAM), and conductive materials include single-walled carbon nano tube (SWCNT), multi-walled carbon nano tube (MWCNT), and carbon-based conductive materials. In this study, we applied poly(vinyl alcohol-co-acrylic acid) random copolymer polymer as a binder and analyzed the characteristics of silicon-based batteries with various conductive materials. Slurry analyzes such as slurry dispersibility, phase stability, and rheology were performed. The initial efficiencies and cycle performances of different types of silicon-based materials were compared. It was confirmed that the type of silicon-based negative electrode material and the type of conductive material affect battery performance.