Multilevel carbon architecture of subnanoscopic silicon for fast-charging high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries

Silicon (Si) is widely used as a lithium-ion-battery anode owing to its high capacity and abundant crustal reserves. However, large volume change upon cycling and poor conductivity of Si cause rapid capacity decay and poor fast-charging capability limiting its commercial applications. Here, we propose a multilevel carbon architecture with vertical graphene sheets (VGSs) grown on surfaces of subnanoscopically and homogeneously dispersed Si-C composite nanospheres, which are subsequently embedded into a carbon matrix (C/VGSs@Si-C). Subnanoscopic C in the Si-C nanospheres, VGSs, and carbon matrix form a three-dimensional conductive and robust network, which significantly improves the conductivity and suppresses the volume expansion of Si, thereby boosting charge transport and improving electrode stability. The VGSs with vast exposed edges considerably increase the contact area with the carbon matrix and supply directional transport channels through the entire material, which boosts charge transport. The carbon matrix encapsulates VGSs@Si-C to decrease the specific surface area and increase tap density, thus yielding high first Coulombic efficiency and electrode compaction density. Consequently, C/VGSs@Si-C delivers excellent Li-ion storage performances under industrial electrode conditions. In particular, the full cells show high energy densities of 603.5 Wh kg(-1) and 1685.5 Wh L-1 at 0.1 C and maintain 80.7% of the energy density at 3 C.