Who is the Ultimate in Silicon Anode Materials? ... UNIST Research Team Publishes Review Paper in Nature Energy

An analytical protocol capable of evaluating silicon anode materials applicable to commercialized batteries has been proposed.

A team led by Distinguished Professor Jae-Pil Cho from the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST published a review paper in Nature Energy that deeply analyzes the characteristics and issues that silicon anode materials, which are receiving the most attention as secondary battery materials, must secure to be used in commercial batteries.

Silicon anode materials experience a volume expansion and contraction more than five times that of graphite during charging and discharging, causing fragmentation. This accelerates decomposition reactions with the electrolyte and forms a thick surface film that hinders lithium-ion movement and leads to lifespan degradation.

Silicon materials currently used in electric vehicle battery anodes are SiOx-based particles of micron size, containing less than 5%, but the initial efficiency of these materials is in the 80% range and their conductivity is low, causing problems with fast charging.

Professor Jaepil Cho of UNIST (left), Professor Jaekyung Sung of Gyeongsang National University.

The research team pointed out that the silicon materials under development have an initial efficiency below 86%, which is lower than graphite’s 94%, thereby reducing the utilization efficiency of the cathode.

They also analyzed that as the silicon particles grow larger, efficiency decreases, and the fragmentation caused by volume expansion and contraction accelerates, leading to rapid lifespan degradation and gas generation.

In this paper, the team mentioned that the only solution is to reduce the silicon size to below 5 nm and uniformly disperse it on conductive carbon particles.

Distinguished Professor Jae-Pil Cho stated, “Currently, the evaluation methods for silicon anode materials reported in specialized academic journals are somewhat limited, making it difficult to judge their commercial viability,” and added, “We expect that this paper will stimulate more active development of silicon anode materials applicable to commercialization.”

This review paper was written at the invitation of the editor-in-chief of the prestigious energy journal Nature Energy, with Professor Jae-Gyeong Seong from Gyeongsang National University participating as a co-corresponding author. The paper was published on August 28.

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