Canada found that silicon nanoparticles can increase the storage capacity of lithium batteries by 10 times

There are abundant reserves of silicon. Si and Li can be combined to form a Li4.4Si, which has a theoretical specific energy of 4200mAh/g. That is ten times more than the lithium-ion that is absorbed by a lithium battery. In the present day, silicon materials are used in lithium-ion cells primarily for two reasons. The anode is infused with nano-silicon in order to produce a silicon/carbon anode. To improve the performance, organosilicon compounds can be added to the electrolyte.

The University in Alberta created a new generation silicon-based lithium battery

Jillian Biriak and her team at the University of Alberta (Canada) discovered recently that shaping silicon into nano-sized particle helps it to resist breaking.

Nano-silicon can be defined as crystalline particles of silicon that have a diameter less than five nanometers. It is an important nonmetal amorphous substance. Nano silicon powder is a non-toxic, odorless material with high purity and small particle size. Nano-silicon can have a variety of uses: It can be used to make high temperature coatings and refractory material, and it can also be mixed with diamonds under high pressurized to form composite materials. These materials can then be used as cutting materials and combined with graphite to form composite materials made from silicon and carbon. The negative electrode material in lithium-ion cells increases the battery’s capacity. This material can be combined with organic matter to create organic silicon polymer.

The team studied and tested four sizes of nanoparticles of silicon to determine which size would maximize its advantages while minimizing the disadvantages. The silicon nanoparticles are evenly dispersed in a graphene-based aerogel with nanopores that compensates for the low conductivity.

After multiple cycles of charge and discharge, they found that particles as small as one-part of a meter showed the most stability. This eliminates the limitations of using silicon for lithium-ion cells. This discovery may lead to the development of a battery with a 10x capacity increase over current lithium-ion. It could be a key step towards manufacturing a silicon-based generation of lithium-ion. The research findings were published in a journal called “Materials Chemistry”.

The lithium battery industry’s chain of tens billions in silicon anode sales

This research can be applied in many fields, including electric vehicles. The batteries will become lighter, travel longer and charge faster. The next step will be to create a method that is faster and cheaper to produce silicon nanoparticles. This will make it easier for industrial production.

Other than new energy vehicles, the need for lithium-ion battery with higher energy and power density is also present in the areas of energy storage and ships. It is now common to use high nickel ternary material as the positive electrode, and silicon and its Composite material as the negative electrode.

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