Graphene-supported cobalt nanoparticles used to activate SiO2-based anode for lithium-ion batteries

Although SiO2-based anode is a strong competitor to supersede graphite anode for lithium-ion batteries, it still has problems such as low electrochemical activity, enormous loss of active lithium, and serious volume expansion. In order to solve these problems, we used a graphene network loaded with cobalt metal nanoparticles (rGO–Co) to coat SiO2 porous hollow spheres (SiO2@rGO–Co). The construction of porous hollow structure and graphene network can shorten the lithium-ion (Li+) diffusion distance and enhance the conductivity of the composite, which improves the electrochemical activity of SiO2 effectively. They also alleviate the volume expansion of the anode in the cycling process. Moreover, nano-scale cobalt metal particles dispersed on graphene catalyze the conversion reaction of SiO2 and activate the locked Li+ in Li2O through a reversible reaction, which improves the charge and discharge capacity of the anode. The capacity of SiO2@rGO–Co reaches 370.4 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 0.1 A/g, which is 6.19 times the capacity of pure SiO2 (59.8 mAh/g) under the same circumstance. What is more, its structure also exhibits excellent cycle stability, with a volume expansion rate of only 13.0% after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A/g.