Graphene Folding in Si Rich Carbon Nanofibers for Highly Stable, High Capacity Li-Ion Battery Anodes

Silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) wrapped by graphene in carbon nanofibers were obtained via electrospinning and subsequent thermal treatment. In this study, water-soluble poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with low carbon yield is selected to make the process water-based and to achieve a high silicon yield in the composite. It was also found that increasing the amount of graphene helps keep the PVA fiber morphology after carbonization, while forming a graphene network. The fiber SEM and HRTEM images reveal that micrometer graphene is heavily folded into sub-micron scale fibers during electrospinning, while Si NPs are incorporated into the folds with nanospace in between. When applied to lithium-ion battery anodes, the Si/graphene/carbon nanofiber composites show a high reversible capacity of ∼2300 mAh g(-1) at a charging rate of 100 mA/g and a stable capacity of 1191 mAh g(-1) at 1 A/g after more than 200 cycles. The interconnected graphene network not only ensures the excellent conductivity but also serves as a buffering matrix for the mechanic stress caused by volume change; the nanospace between Si NPs and folded graphene provides the space needed for volume expansion.