A Korean research team claim they have developed a new type anode material that will greatly improve the performance of commercial lithium-ion batteries.
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), a public university in South Korea, has proved the possibility of a next-generation hybrid anode using silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon.
They believe this structure allows compatibility between silicon and natural graphite and tackles the problems of severe side reactions caused by structural failure of crumbled graphite dust and uncombined residue of silicon particles by conventional mechanical milling.
This new anode material has been manufactured with increase in graphite content in composite by 45%.
The team has also developed new equipment, which is capable of producing 300kg in six hours per batch using a small amount of silane gas (SiH4). Such simple procedure ensures a competitive price.
The silicon/graphite composite is mass-producible and it has superior battery performances with industrial electrode density, high areal capacity, and low amounts of binder.
This project also supported by the Office of Vehicle Technologies, Battery Materials Research Program of the US Department of Energy.
