Hollow C nanobox: An efficient Ge anode supporting structure applied to high-performance Li ion batteries

Diverse strategies have been used to address the irreversible structural collapse issues of Ge-based anodes associated with lithium insertion/extraction. In this research, the hollow C-Ge and C-Si core-shell (Ge@C and Si@C) anode materials are successfully synthesized through a facile chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method onto hollow carbon nanoboxes. Compared with the Si@C nanoboxes anode, the Ge@C nanoboxes display better cycling performance, which is attributed to the Ge intrinsic favorable electronic/ionic conductivities and the distinctive Ge anode configurations. In addition, the conductive carbon nanobox supporting structure not only effectively accommodates the volume change of the amorphous Ge nanoparticles during the repeated cycling, but also significantly enhances the reaction kinetics of the Ge active material due to the enlarged surface area. More importantly, the nanoarchitecture of this un-protective Ge shell layer anode can be well maintained even after long-term cycling and the LiCoO2||Separator(LiPF6+EC + DEC)||Ge@C full battery also display superior cyclability.