Preparation of Silicon-Antimony Based Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

In this study, SixSb immiscible composite blend as anode materials have been synthesizedusing micron-sized silicone and antimony particles in different compositions throughchemical reduction-mechanical alloying method (CR-MA). The obtained microstructureshave been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDX). Spectroscopic characterizations ofthe composite materials showed that a traditional intermetallic compound could not beachieved. However a novel immiscible composite blend system have been developed. One ofthe newly prepared composite materials, Si0.65Sb, exhibits an initial capacity of 790 mAh g-1and a good cyclic stability compared to the pure silicone. The battery performance resultsof the micron-sized Si0.65Sb blend system have been compared with the commercially usedgraphite and the nano-sized Si/Sb alloy systems. The cycling stability of the micron-sizedSi0.65Sb blend system showed an improvement compared to nano-sized Si/Sb alloy systems.Moreover its specific capacity is slightly higher than the commercial graphite anode material.These results portray the importance of micron sized Si/Sb system in large-scale applicationsdue to its low cost.