Engineering Nanostructured Silicon and its Practical Applications in Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Critical Review

Silicon is regarded as one of the most important high-capacity materials and has been added to some commercial anodes to increase the specific energy of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the large volume change of Si during cycling leads to cracking, continuous accumulation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), and electric disconnection, posing a major challenge to practical applications. In this review, the latest progress on practical Si anodes and the scalable fabrication technologies, including synthesis of nanostructured Si, Si/C, SiOx composites, and binders is proposed. At last, a perspective of future studies on nano-Si-based anodes is suggested and, from a practical viewpoint, the rational design of high-capacity Si anodes for better LIBs to narrow the gap between nanostructural design and practical applications is discussed.