Materials with extremely durable intercalation of lithium and manufacturing methods thereof
Composites of silicon and various porous scaffold materials, such as carbon material comprising micro-, meso- and/or macropores, and methods for manufacturing the same are provided. The compositions find utility in various applications, including electrical energy storage electrodes and devices comprising the same.
1. A process for preparing silicon-carbon composite particles, the process comprising:
a. providing a porous carbon framework comprising micropores;
b. heating the porous carbon framework at an elevated temperature in the presence of a silicon-containing gas, thereby impregnating silicon within the micropores of the porous carbon framework to provide a silicon-carbon composite; and
c. performing a particle size reduction of the silicon-carbon composite to provide silicon-carbon composite particles, wherein the silicon-carbon composite particles have a nitrogen-inaccessible volume ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 cm 3 /g.
2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the silicon impregnated within the micropores of the porous carbon framework is nano sized.
3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises pyrolyzed carbon material.
4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises pyrolyzed and activated carbon material.
5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the particle size reduction is performed by jet milling.
6. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the jet milling is performed in the presence of nitrogen gas.
7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the elevated temperature is between 300 and 900° C.
8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises a pore volume greater than 0.5 cm 3 /g.
9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises a surface area greater than 500 m 2 /g.
10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework comprises a surface area greater than 750 m 2 /g.
11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the silicon-carbon composite particles comprise pores, and a majority of the pores have a diameter of 5 nm or lower.
12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,0 of the silicon-carbon composite particles ranges from 1 nm to 5 microns.
13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,0 of the silicon-carbon composite particles is greater than 5 um.
14. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,100 of the silicon-carbon composite particles ranges from 8 nm to 100 microns.
15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a Dv,100 of the silicon-carbon composite particles is greater than 100 microns.
16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a silicon content of the silicon-carbon composite particles ranges from 5% to 95% by weight.
17. The process according to claim 1 , wherein an oxygen content of the silicon-carbon composite particles is less than 10% by weight.
18. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework is heated in a fluidized bed reactor.
19. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon framework further comprises mesopores.