Facile construction of the stable layer on the surface of Si/C electrode assisted by SWCNT coating

Silicon as one of the most promising anode materials suffers from its low electronic conductivity and large volume changes during the lithiation/delithiation processes, resulting in a huge capacity fading upon cycling. Herein, we design a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) coating on the silicon/carbon (Si/C) electrode to improve its cycling performance. By this simple configuration, the commercial Si/C electrode delivers a high reversible capacity of 653.8 mA h g −1 at current density of 65 mA g −1 and exhibits excellent cycling stability with capacity retention 79.8% after 150 cycles. As expected, the SWCNT layer on the surface of electrode improves the electronic conductivity of the electrode and serves as a barrier layer to prevent the electrode surface from cracking and delaminating, which gives the best reversible capacity and longer life cycle. This design can eliminate much more complicated processes for providing some potential in commercial applications.