Micro-sized porous silicon@PEDOT with high rate capacity and stability for Li-ion battery anode

Abstract

Abstract To address the serious volume expansion and poor conductivity of silicon anode in lithium ion batteries (LIBs), a strategy through coating conductive polymer on the surface of micro-Si via a facile wet chemical process is proposed. In this way, a porous micro-Si anode coated with poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was synthesized. This material shows a capacity as high as 1168 mAh g−1 at high current rate of 2000\xa0mA\xa0g−1 for anode of LIBs. The synergistic effect of porous structure and PEDOT protective layer could not only relieve the volume expansion, but also enhance the conductivity of Si. This study provides an attractive strategy to deal with volume expansion and low conductivity of Si, which could be very meaningful for the development of high energy density LIBs.