Preparation of SiO_x -C composite materials with a reinforced concrete-like structure for lithium-ion batteries

This work reports a simple method to prepare a Si-O-C anode material with a reinforced concrete-like structure, in which carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were embedded and acted like steel bars to provide stress support, and the silicon atoms were wrapped with atomically dispersed carbon and oxygen concrete matrix. An outermost carbon layer was plated via chemical vapor deposition to further inhibit the volume change of the material. Thanks to the unique structural design, the prepared CNTs/SiOx -C/C anode showed excellent electrochemical performance with a high-capacity retention rate of 80% after 970 cycles at 0.5 A center dot g(-1).