Boosting the cell performance of the SiO_(x)@C anode material via rational design of a Si-valence gradient

Relieving the stress or strain associated with volume change is highly desirable for high-performance SiOx anodes in terms of stable solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)-film growth.Herein,a Si-valence gradient is optimized in SiOx composites to circumvent the large volume strain accompanied by lithium insertion/extraction.SiO_(x)@C annealed at 850℃ has a gentle Si-valence gradient along the radial direction and excellent electrochemical performances,delivering a high capacity of 506.9 mAh g^(−1) at 1.0 A g^(−1) with a high Coulombic efficiency of~99.8%over 400 cycles.Combined with the theoretical prediction,the obtained results indicate that the gentle Si-valence gradient in SiO_(x)@C is useful for suppressing plastic deformation and maintaining the inner connection integrity within the SiO_(x)@C particle.Moreover,a gentle Si-valence gradient is expected to form a stress gradient and affect the distribution of dangling bonds,resulting in local stress relief during the lithiation/delithiation process and enhanced Li-ion kinetic diffusion.Furthermore,the lowest interfacial stress variation ensures a stable SEI film at the interface and consequently increases cycling stability.Therefore,rational design of a Si-valence gradient in SiOx can provide further insights into achieving high-performance SiOx anodes with large-scale production.