Green Synthesis of SiOx/C Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Sustainable Sub-Micron NaCl Crystals and Rice Husk Precursors
The Korean Physical Society, DCC DAEJEON, Korea (2023)
Hyun Seo Yang, Yong Yeol Park, Yong Joon Lee, Seo Young Kang, Ye Rim Kim, Dong Pyo Hong, Ok Sung Jeon, Se Hun Lee, and Young Joon Yoo, Sang Yoon Park
Abstract
In the past, research on replacing graphite, which is used as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries, has primarily focused on solving the low energy density problem. However, due to emerging environmental concerns, it is necessary to conduct research in a direction that minimizes environmental hazards during the material development process, rather than solely focusing on performance. In this study, we introduce SiOx/C produced through the NaCl salt-assisted synthesis method, which can address environmental destruction and hazards, as well as complicated preparation processes, while improving electrochemical performance. The starting material for this synthesis method is rice husk. During the synthesis process, excess NaCl is added to the rice husks, which serves three main purposes: catalytic graphitization, activation of carbon, and formation of amorphous silica. Additionally, the NaCl used in this process can be infinitely and repeatedly reused through dissolution in water after the reaction is complete. As a result, the lithium-ion batteries that use rice husk-derived SiOx/C produced through our salt-assisted method exhibit a high initial charge/discharge capacity of 422.05/915.93 mAh∙g-1 at 0.05 A∙g-1 and high cycle stability over 500 cycles.