Multipath conduction and large capacity silicon-based anodes for high stabilizing lithium-ion batteries

[Display omitted] •A new idea to expand the large-scale application of micron silicon in lithium-ion batteries.•The Ag-pSi/G composite was prepared by a simple three-step method.•The volume expansion of the composite was effectively alleviated and the conductivity was improved.•The Ag-pSi/G composite exhibited good cycling stability and rate performance. Ultrahigh specific capacity silicon is considered as a potential anode candidate for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In order to reduce the influence of the large volume expansion and poor conductivity of silicon, a few silicon nanoparticles are now used in commercial anodes, which increases costs and weakens the overall specific capacity. Here, we used low-cost aluminum–silicon alloys as raw materials to obtain porous silicon (pSi) particles by simple chemical etching. Then, Ag doped porous silicon/graphite (Ag-pSi/G) composite was prepared by depositing ultrafine Ag nanoparticles and mixing low-quality graphite. The large specific surface area, Ag nanoparticles and graphite provide multiple electron transport pathways in Ag-pSi/G, so they greatly increase the conductivity of the Ag-pSi/G and effectively reduce its volume expansion. The Ag-pSi/G composite shows high initial charging capacity (3313 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1) and initial coulombic efficiency (82.2%), and stable reversible specific capacity of 770 mAh g−1 over 300 cycles at 1 A g−1. This simple and scalable preparation process provides a new thought for the broad application of micron silicon materials in the high-performance LIBs.