Fabrication of Silicon/Carbon Composite Material with Silicon Waste and Carbon Nanofiber Applied in Lithium-Ion Battery

Silicon (Si) is regarded as a promising material for lithium-ion battery anode because of high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, Si faces particle pulverization and rapid capacity fading due to serious volume change during the lithiation and the delithiation process. In this work, a silicon/carbon composite constituted to Si powder and carbon nanofiber (CNF) is produced to solve the above issues as a new design structure of anode material. The Si powder was recycled from the silicon slicing waste in photovoltaic industry and the CNF was from dry rice straws. By mixing the purified Si powder with CNF, the composite was synthesized by the freeze-drying method and calcination. In the cyclic test, Si adding with 1 wt% CNF showed 3091 mAh/g capacity in the first cycle and 1079 mAh/g capacity after 100 cycles at the current density of 0.5 A/g, which were both better than pristine Si. SEM images also show the composite structure can eliminate cracks on the surface of the electrode during cycling. CNF attaching on Si particles can increase specific surface area, so binder can easily combine the active materials and the conductive materials together. This strategy enhances the structure stability and prevents the electrode from delamination.

Preparation of SiC Porous Ceramics by Crystalline Silicon Cutting Waste

SiC porous ceramics were prepared at 1 400 ℃ for4 h with crystalline silicon cutting waste and activated carbon as main starting materials and NH4HCO3 as the pore-forming agent. Effects of NH4HCO3 additions( 0,20%,30%,40%,by mass) on the phase composition,microstructure,sintering properties,cold compressive strength and thermal shock resistance of as-prepared Si C porous ceramics were investigated. The results show that:( 1) addition of NH4HCO3 remarkably influences the apparent porosity and cold compressive strength of specimens. The apparent porosity achieves its maximum value( 63. 40%) when 40% NH4HCO3 is added,while the minimum cold compressive strength is 4. 77 MPa;( 2) the specimen with 40% NH4HCO3 has the best thermal shock resistance. The thermal cycling times between1 000 ℃ to room temperature reach 62;( 3) the addition of NH4HCO3 does not remarkably affect the phase composition of the specimens;( 4) the specimens include a large number of SiC particles and a small amount of SiC whiskers.

Effects of Pore-forming Agents on Properties of Silicon Carbide Porous Ceramics Prepared from Crystalline Silicon Cutting Waste

SiC powder was rapidly synthesized in an induction furnace with crystalline silicon cutting waste and active carbon as raw materials,and then SiC porous ceramics were prepared at 1600 t for 4 h with carbon embedded using the powder as raw material,the starch and the graphite as pore-forming agents.Effects of additions of different pore-forming agents on the phase composition,microstructures,physical properties,and cold crushing strength of the porous ceramics were investigated.The results show that the main crystalline phases of the synthetic powder areα-S iC(6H-SiC)andβ-SiC(3C-SiC).The phase composition of the porous ceramics includesα-S iC(6H-SiC),β-SiC(3C-SiC),FeSi,quartz and Si2N20.The apparent porosity and closed porosity of the porous ceramics prepared by adding starch are higher,and the cold compressive strength of the porous ceramics added with graphite is higher.As increasing the additions of the starch,the apparent porosity,closed porosity and linear shrinkage ratio of the porous ceramics increase,and the bulk density decreases correspondingly.When 20 mass%starch is added,the apparent porosity,closed porosity,linear shrinkage ratio and cold compressive strength are 57.05%,2.03%,5.10%and 10.20 MPa,respectively.

Silicon carbide waste as a source of mixture materials for cement mortar

This paper presents an investigation of the feasibility of recycling silicon carbide waste （SCW） as a source of mixture materials in the production of cement mortar. Mortars with SCW were prepared by replacing different amounts of cement with SCW, and the properties of the resulting mortars, such as the fluidity, strength and shrinkage, were studied in this work. Thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimet;＇y and scanning electron microscopy were employed to understand the reasons for the property changes of the mortars. The results indicate that SCW decreases the initial and l-h fluidity of fresh mortar but improves the loss of fluidity. The mortar with SCW exhibits a lower strength at 3 d and7 d but a higher strength at 28 d and 56 d compared to the control. The shrinkage rate of cement mortar with SCW shows an obvious decrease as the replacement ratio increases. In addition, the content of calcium hydroxide in hardened paste also shows that SCW has some impact on the hydration of the cement-SCW system. The microstructures of the hardened paste also show evidence for a later strength change of mortar containing SCW. This work provides a strategic reference for possibly applying SCW as a mixture material in the production of cement mortar.

Scalable synthesis of N-doped Si/G@voids@C with porous structures for high-performance anode of lithium-ion batteries

The co-utilization of silicon(Si) and graphite(G) has been considered as the preferred strategy to achieve high energy density anode materials,but the effective synergistic integration of Si and graphite is still a challenge and it is necessary to find a scheme to accommodate the large-scale production of Si/graphite anodes.In this work,silicon cutting waste from the photovoltaic industry was used as raw material,mixed with graphite,pitch,and polyvinylpyrrolidone,and subjected to high-energy ball milling.The mixture was then heated in an Ar atmosphere for the carbon coating,and the resulting Si/graphite/carbon(Si/G/C) composite was etched to remove the thicker SiOx layer formed on the Si surface to allow the pores between the Si and the carbon matrix to obtain Si@voids/G@C.Benefiting from the integrated structural design and the significantly enhanced electronic conductivity,the Si/G@voids@C composite exhibited the first dischargespecific capacity of 2530 mAh·g^(-1) with an initial coulombic efficiency(ICE) of 86.7%,and the remaining capacity exceeded 1000 mAh·g^(-1) after 550 cycles at 1.5A·g^(-1).Notably,full lithium-ion batteries with a Si/G@voids@C anode and LiFePO_4 cathode delivered a stable capacity of 140 mAh·g^(-1).The synthesis method is facile and cost-effective,providing an integration strategy for Si and G with a potential scheme for large-scale commercial applications.