Doped micro-silicon and vanadium carbide MXene composite as anode for high stability and high capacity Li-ion batteries

• Published in: Results in engineering Vol. 19; p. 101338
• Main Authors: Choudhury, Rohit, Kurra, Narendra, Meduri, Praveen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Graphite; MXene; Nitrogen doping; Phosphorus doping; Silicon anode; Vanadium carbide; Phosphorus doping; Vanadium carbide; Nitrogen doping; Silicon anode; MXene; Graphite
• ISSN: 2590-1230; 2590-1230
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2023.101338

The demand for high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been rising exponentially. Silicon (Si) is gaining increased attention and popularity as an anode material due to its high theoretical capacity (4200 mAhg−1, Li4.4Si) and ample abundance, but the huge volume expansion of Si restricts its use in practical applications. Herein, we propose a composite consisting of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) doped micron Si/graphite with vanadium carbide (V2C) MXene, which effectively helps to buffer the mechanical stresses initiated by the volume expansion of Si. The lithium storage specific capacity of the composite is 2003 mAhg−1 (based on the weight of Si) after a long-term cycling of 500 cycles (1C rate) along with a good high rate performance. The improved performance of the composite electrode can be attributed to V2C as well as N/P doping, which significantly enhance the electron/ion conduction pathways. Also, low-cost micron Si can provide high tap density in practical applications where volumetric performance is desired. Thus, this work provides an approach to develop high-performance micron Si-based materials for LIBs. •Design and development of cost-effective and easy to scale up micron-sized silicon (Si) as anode for lithium ion batteries.•Doped Si is encapsulated by graphite sheets alleviating the volume changes due to Si leading to high specific capacity.•Doped silicon-graphite-V2C MXene exhibited a good capacity of 2003 mAhg−1 (based on the weight of Si) after 500 cycles at 1C with a good rate performance.•Post-lithiation analysis revealed a relatively lower volume change for doped silicon-graphite-V2C MXene (d Si/G/M-10) in comparison to doped silicon-graphite (d Si/G-10) signifying the contribution of V2C in further curtailing the volume changes.