Graphene Oxides Used as a New "Dual Role" Binder for Stabilizing Silicon Nanoparticles in Lithium-Ion Battery

For the first time, we report that graphene oxide (GO) can be used as a new "dual-role" binder for Si nanoparticles (SiNPs)-based lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). GO not only provides a graphene-like porous 3D framework for accommodating the volume changes of SiNPs during charging/discharging cycles, but also acts as a polymer-like binder that forms strong chemical bonds with SiNPs through its Si-OH functional groups to trap and stabilize SiNPs inside the electrode. Leveraging this unique dual-role of GO binder, we fabricated GO/SiNPs electrodes with remarkably improved performances as compared to using the conventional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. Specifically, the GO/SiNPs electrode showed a specific capacity of 2400 mA h g(-1) at the 50th cycle and 2000 mA h g(-1) at the 100th cycle, whereas the SiNPs/PVDF electrode only showed 456 mAh g(-1) at the 50th cycle and 100 mAh g(-1) at 100th cycle. Moreover, the GO/SiNPs film maintained its structural integrity and formed a stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) film after 100 cycles. These results, combined with the well-established facile synthesis of GO, indicate that GO can be an excellent binder for developing high performance Si-based LIBs.