• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.411-417
• /
• 2013

To use as an anode material of lithium secondary battery, graphite-silicon composite powders are prepared by ball-milling with silicon nanoparticles (average diameter 100 nm, 0~50 wt%) and graphite powder (average diameter $15{\mu}m$) and their electrochemical properties are examined. As the silicon content increases, the graphite becomes smaller by the ball-milling and amorphous phase appears whereas the silicon do not suffer the change of nanocrystalline phases and embeds within the amorphous phase of graphite. Cyclic voltammetry at low scan rate reveals that typical oxidation peaks of graphite and silicon appear at 0.2~0.35 and 0.55~0.6 V, respectively, with higher reversibility for repeated cycles. In contrast, the high-scan-rate redox behavior is very irreversible for repeated cycles. High irreversible capacity is exhibited in the initial charging-discharging cycles, but it diminishes as the cycle number increases. The saturated discharge capacity achieves about 485 mAh $g^{-1}$ at 50th cycle for the composite of Si 20 wt%. This is due to the formation of amorphous graphite morphology by the adequate composition (C:Si=8:2 w/w), which efficiently buffers the volume change during alloying/dealloying between silicon and lithium.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2007.05a
• /
• pp.148-153
• /
• 2007

The effect of silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite fillers incorporation on the abrasive wear behaviour of glass-vinyl ester (G-V) composites have been investigated. The three-body abrasive wear behaviour was assessed by rubber wheel abrasion tests (RWAT). The worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of SiC and graphite fillers in G-V composite improves the abrasion resistance under different loads/abrading distances. The SEM studies indicate the reasons for failure of composites and influencing parameters.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.159-166
• /
• 2022

The assembly of the micron-sized Si/CNT/carbon composite wrapped with graphene (SCG composite) is designed and synthesized via a spray drying process. The spherical SCG composite exhibits a high discharge capacity of 1789 mAh g^-1 with an initial coulombic efficiency of 84 %. Moreover, the porous architecture of SCG composite is beneficial for enhancing cycling stability and rate capability. In practice, a blended electrode consisting of spherical SCG composite and natural graphite with a reversible capacity of ~500 mAh g^-1, shows a stable cycle performance with high cycling efficiencies (> 99.5%) during 100 cycles. These superior electrochemical performance are mainly attributed to the robust design and structural stability of the SCG composite during charge and discharge process. It appears that despite the fracture of micro-sized Si particles during repeated cycling, the electrical contact of Si particles can be maintained within the SCG composite by suppressing the direct contact of Si particles with electrolytes.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.34 no.8
• /
• pp.854-860
• /
• 1997

The tribological property of ceramics is very important for use in seal rings, pump parts, thread guides and mechanical seal, etc. In the present study, which RBSC/graphite composites were manufactured by adding graphite powders with different particle sizes to mixtures of SiC powder, metallic silicon, carbon black and alumina, effects on the tribological property of each RBSC/graphite composite was investigated in accordance with the particle size of the added graphite powder. The water absorption, the bending strength and the resistance for the friction and wear were measured, and the crystalline phase and the microstructure were respectively examined by using XRD and SEM. In case that the particle size of the graphite powder was fine(2${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$), the formation of $\beta$-SiC was accelerated, thereby making the increase of the bending strength and the decrease of the water absorption, but no improvement for the tribological properties. Furthermore, in case that the particle size of the graphite powder was some large(88~149${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$), the formation of $\beta$-SiC was not accelerated, to thereby make the decrease of the bending strength and the increase of the water absorption, but the improvement for the tribological property of only the composite having the graphite powder of 20 vol%. In addition, in case that the particle size distribution of the graphite powder was large (under 53 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$), there was no improvement for every properties. However, the composites, which the graphite powder with the particle size of 53~88 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ was added in 10~15 vol%, had the most increased resistance for the friction and wear which show the worn out amount of 0.4~0.6$\times$10-3 $\textrm{cm}^2$, and the value of the bending strength is 380~520 kg/$\textrm{cm}^2$.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.154-159
• /
• 2012

Structural volume change occurring on the Si-based anode battery materials during alloying/dealloying with lithium is noticed to be a major drawback responsible for a limited cycle life. Silicon monoxide has been reported to show relatively improved cycling performance compared to Si-containing materials for rechargeable lithium batteries, due to the structural buffering role of in-situ formed $Li_2O$ and lithium silicate during the reaction of silicon monoxide and lithium. Here we report improved cycling ability of interfacially stabilized Si-$SiO_2$-graphite composite anode using silane-based electrolyte additive for rechargeable lithium batteries, which includes low cost silicon dioxide for structural stabilization and graphite for enhanced conductivity.

• Carbon letters
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.335-339
• /
• 2007

Carbon/silicon composites were synthesized by mixing silicon powders with petroleum pitch and subsequent heat-treatment. The resultant composites were composed of carbon and nano-size crystalline silicon identified by XRD and EDX. FIB images and SEM images were taken respectively to detect the existence of silicon impregnated in carbon and the distribution of silicon on the carbon surface. The obtained carbon/silicon materials were assembled as half cell anodes for lithium ion secondary battery and their electrochemical properties were tested. The pitch/silicon composite (3 : 1 wt. ratio) heat treated at $1000^{\circ}C$ and mixed with 55.5 wt.% of graphite showed relatively good electrochemical properties such as the initial efficiency of 78%, the initial discharge capacity of 605 mAh/g, and the discharge capacity of 500 mAh/g after 20 cycles.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.643-652
• /
• 1995

Si-SiC-graphite composites were developed by incorporating solid lubricant graphite into Si-SiC, in the light of improving tribological properties of Si-SiC ceramics. Si-SiC-graphite composites were fabricated by infilterating silicon melt into the mixture of α-SiC, carbon black and graphite powder at 1750℃ under 3 Torr. The particle size of graphite was in the range of 150 to 500㎛, and the loading content of graphite was 0, 20, 25, 30, 35 vol% in the mixture of α-SiC and carbon black. The mechanical and tribological properties of this composites were studied. The density, hardness, flexural strength, compressive strength and Young's modulus were decreased with increasing of graphite content. An additiion of solid-lubricant graphite up to 30 vol% has improved tribological properties of Si-SiC ceramics without considerable degradation of mechanical properties.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.399-406
• /
• 1994

The SiC/MoSi2 composite material was prepared by infiltration with the mixture of metal Si and MoSi2 into the preform of $\alpha$-SiC and graphite under the vacuum atmosphere of 10-1 torr. The mechanical properties, phases and microstructural characteristics have been investigated by employing an universal testing machine, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer. With the increase of MoSi2/Si mixing content, the quantity of the residual silicon phase was decreased and the hardness and fracture toughness of composite materials were increased. Also, as the infiltration temperature increased, a lot of fine-grained $\beta$-SiC phases, which were produced from the reaction of graphite and liquid silicon melt, were transformed to $\alpha$-SiC phases.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.243-248
• /
• 2014

Silicon-carbon composite was prepared by the magnesiothermic reduction of mesoporous silica and subsequent impregnation with a carbon precursor. This was applied for use as an anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Well-ordered mesoporous silica(SBA-15) was employed as a starting material for the mesoporous silicon, and sucrose was used as a carbon source. It was found that complete removal of by-products ($Mg_2Si$ and $Mg_2SiO_4$) formed by side reactions of silica and magnesium during the magnesiothermic reduction, was a crucial factor for successful formation of mesoporous silicon. Successful formation of the silicon-carbon composite was well confirmed by appropriate characterization tools (e.g., $N_2$ adsorption-desorption, small-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analyses). A lithium-ion battery was fabricated using the prepared silicon-carbon composite as the anode, and lithium foil as the counter-electrode. Electrochemical analysis revealed that the silicon-carbon composite showed better cycling stability than graphite, when used as the anode in the lithium-ion battery. This improvement could be due to the fact that carbon efficiently suppressed the change in volume of the silicon material caused by the charge-discharge cycle. This indicates that silicon-carbon composite, prepared via the magnesiothermic reduction and impregnation methods, could be an efficient anode material for lithium ion batteries.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.74-81
• /
• 2021

Silicon (Si) is recognized as a promising anode material for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. However, under a condition of electrode comparable to commercial graphite anodes with low binder content and a high electrode density, the practical use of Si is limited due to the huge volume change associated with Si-Li alloying/de-alloying. Here, we report a novel core-shell composite, having a reversible capacity of ~ 500 mAh g-1, by forming a shell composed of a mixture of nano-Si, graphite nanosheets and a pitch carbon on a spherical natural graphite particle. The electrochemical measurements are performed using electrodes with 2 wt % styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and 2 wt.% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) binder in an electrode density of ~ 1.6 g cm-3. The core-shell composites having the reversible capacity of 478 mAh g-1 shows the outstanding capacity retention of 99% after 100 cycles with the initial coulombic efficiency of 90%. The heterostructure of core-shell composites appears to be very effective in buffering the volume change of Si during cycling.