Amorphous-silicon@silicon oxide/chromium/carbon as an anode for lithium-ion batteries with excellent cyclic stability

•A new amorphous-Si@SiOx/Cr/carbon anode composite for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized by a simple method.•At a current density of 100 mA g−1, this as-prepared composite exhibit a stable discharge capacity of about 810 mAh g−1 with good capacity retention up to 200 cycles. Even at a current density of 800 mA g−1, a stable discharge capacity of 570 mAh g−1 can be obtained.•This work creates a new method to improve the electrochemical performance of SiO-based electrode materials.

A new amorphous-Si@SiOx/Cr/carbon (a-Si@SiOx/Cr/C) anode composite for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized, using SiO, chromium powder and graphite as starting materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) are employed to characterize the composition, morphology and microstructure of the composite. Coin-type cells are assembled to investigate the electrochemical behaviors of the as-prepared composites by constant current charge–discharge technique, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that chromium facilitates the crush of Si@SiOx and graphite during milling, and thus improves their mutual dispersion in the composite. When cycled at 100 mA g−1, the a-Si@SiOx/Cr/C exhibits a stable discharge capacity of about 810 mAh g−1 (calculated on the mass of a-Si@SiOx/Cr/C) with good capacity retention up to 200 cycles. The improved electrochemicalperformance is attributed to the reduced particle size of a-Si@SiOx and the synergistic effect of carbon and chromium.