Zero‐Strain High‐Capacity Silicon/Carbon Anode Enabled by a MOF‐Derived Space‐Confined Single‐Atom Catalytic Strategy for Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Bingjie Chen, Lu Chen, Lianhai Zu, Yutong Feng, Qingmei Su, Chi Zhang, Jinhu Yang
Abstract
Abstract Developing zero‐strain electrode materials with high capacity is crucial for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Here, a new zero‐strain composite material made of ultrasmall Si nanodots (NDs) within metal organic framework‐derived nanoreactors (Si NDs⊂MDN) through a novel space‐confined catalytic strategy is reported. The unique Si NDs⊂MDN anode features a low strain (<3%) and a high theoretical lithium storage capacity (1524 mAh g ‐1 ) which far surpasses the traditional single‐crystal counterparts that suffer from a low capacity delivery. The zero‐strain property is evidenced by substantial characterizations including ex/in situ transmission electron microscopy and mechanical simulations. The Si NDs⊂MDN exhibits superior cycling stability and high reversible capacity (1327 mAh g ‐1 at 0.1 A g ‐1 after 100 cycles) in half‐cells and high energy density (366 Wh kg ‐1 after 300 cycles) in a full cell. This study reports a new catalog of zero‐strain electrode material with significantly improved capacity beyond the traditional single‐crystal zero‐strain materials.