Facile fabrication of oxide layer for si anode with enhanced lithium storage performances via plasma oxidation

Fabrication of oxide layer over Si-based anode materials is recognized as a promising strategy to enhance the cycling performance of Si-based anodes through alleviating the severe volume variation during the lithiation/delithiation processes. In this work, an extremely simple and green plasma oxidation strategy is exploited to fabricate SiOx layer on the surface of Si nanoparticles. The obtained Si@SiOx materials deliver significant enhanced cycling stability (1201 mAh g(-1) at 200th cycle) and promoted initial coulombic efficiency (89.96%) for application in lithium ions batteries (LIBs). The fabricated SiOx layer, which can not only serve as mechanical protect coating to buffer the huge volume change of Si, but also improve the electrolyte wettability of anode to facilitate the contact between electrolyte and electrode, thus promoting the transmission of lithium ions in the electrode. The presented work provides a simple and energy-efficiency and absolute green method to modify the surface of nanoparticles has been inspired preliminarily, and the prepared Si@SiOx materials exhibit promising electrochemical performances could be applied in the energy storage field.

Automated summary

The fabrication of SiOx layer on Si nanoparticles using a simple and green plasma oxidation strategy significantly improves the cycling stability and initial coulombic efficiency for application in lithium ions batteries. The SiOx layer not only acts as a mechanical protect coating to buffer the volume change of Si, but also enhances the electrolyte wettability of the anode, promoting the transmission of lithium ions in the electrode. This work presents a simple, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly method for surface modification of nanoparticles, with promising electrochemical performances for use in energy storage applications.