Conductive polymer binder for nano-silicon/graphite composite electrode in lithium-ion batteries towards a practical application

The state-of-the-art graphite anode containing a small portion of silicon represents a promising way of applying high-capacity alloy anode in the next generation high energy density lithium-ion batteries. The conductive polymeric binders developed for Si anodes proved to be an effective binder for this graphite/nanoSi composite electrode. Without any acetylene black conductive additives in the electrode, a high areal capacity of above 2.5 mAh/cm² is achieved during long-term cycling over 100 cycles. This conductive polymer-enabled graphite/nanoSi composite electrode exhibits high specific capacity and high 1^st cycle efficiency, which is a significant progress toward commercial application of Si anodes.