Chemical dealloying synthesis of porous silicon anchored by in situ generated graphene sheets as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

A novel one-pot chemical dealloying method has been developed to prepare nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and silicon dendrite from cheap commercial Al-Si eutectic precursor. The RGO anchoring could act as both conductive agent and buffer layer for Si volume change in the application of lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The Si/RGO composites show an initial reversible capacity of 2280 mAh g−1, excellent capacity retention of 1942 mAh g−1 even after 100 cycles, and a high capacity of 1521 mAh g−1 even at the rate of 4000 mA g−1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement proved that Si/RGO composite has the lower charge transfer resistance. This work proposes an economic and facile method to prepare silicon based anode material for next generation LIBs with high energy density.