Professor Seung-Wan Song's research team at Chungnam National University in Korea has successfully developed a novel electrolyte  additive  for pure Si anode that is stably operated under ambient pressure. This breakthrough holds significant expectation for a use of pure Si anode (i.e., without graphite) in lithium-ion battery technologies.

The findings of this research have been published online in the prestigious international journal "Journal of Energy Chemistry" on March 16th, 2024. (Title: Stable operation of highly loaded pure Si-Fe anode under ambient pressure via carboxy silane-directed robust solid electrolyte interphase)

Prof. Song's team addressed the inherent issues of Si anode materials, mainly, severe swelling and interfacial instability with liquid electrolyte. Through their innovative carboxy silane additive-induced solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) construction approach, the team succeeded in designing an electrolyte additive material capable of effectively constructing the siloxane-enriched robust and uniform SEI layer at the surface of pure Si, thereby suppressing the swelling and ensuring the stable performance of high-capacity pure Si anode. 

Commenting on the achievement, Prof. Song says, "This accomplishment holds the potential to contribute to the realization and commercialization of pure Si anodes and next-generation high-energy density lithium-ion batteries."

This study was supported by National Research Foundation grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea (No. 2021M3H4A3A02086211 and No. RS-2023-00217581).  

□ Related paper : Stable operation of highly loaded pure Si-Fe anode under ambient pressure via carboxy silane-directed robust solid electrolyte interphase

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209549562400192X)