Toward ultra-long cycling stability and high lithium storage performances: Silica anodes with catalytic effects of low-cost metals particles

SiO₂ has attracted considerable attention for the application of next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its evident merits, such as large capacity, high natural abundance and low price. Nevertheless, the huge volume inflation and inferior electronic conductivity lead to material degradation and hamper its extensive use. To resolve these challenges, a series of SiO₂-M-C (M = Fe, Ni, Cu, C = acetylene black) composites are prepared via a straightforward high energy mechanical milling (HEMM) method. Herein, the M nanoparticles can boost the electronic conductivity and ameliorate electrochemical activity of SiO₂ through the catalytic effect of M in breaking Si-O and Li-O bonds, while C can offer a highly conducting assistance to effectively deter agglomeration and pulverization of SiO₂ nanoparticles. Superiorly, SiO₂-Fe-C reveals exceptional performances with a high initial Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 70.4% at 0.2 A g⁻¹ and long cycle stability under different high current densities (335.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹, 2000 cycles; 212 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹, 5000 cycles, respectively), which surpasses the reported SiO₂-based materials. Considering the convenient preparation and outstanding properties, SiO₂-Fe-C can be of visible significance for practical application in next-generation LIBs.