Integrated Structures of Silicon/CNTs/Graphite Composite as an Advanced Li‐Metal‐Free Anode for Li‐Sulfur Batteries

Silicon (Si) is considered an alternative anode material for Li‐S batteries considering its high theoretical capacity of 3590 mAh g−1 at room temperature, and advantageous to avoid unfavorable Li metal anode, which forms dendrites during the cell charging and discharging process causes short circuits. Here in this study, we have prepared a nanocomposite anode comprising Si nanoparticles, multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs), and graphite (G) by low‐temperature annealing approach and studied their electrochemical characteristics by combining with sulfur cathodes into Si‐S full cells in ether‐based liquid electrolytes. The prepared Si‐S battery system exhibits stable electrochemical properties with long cycle life. The fabricated full cell delivered specific capacities of 328 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, and 243 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C, with calculated energy densities of 542 and 473 Wh kg−1, respectively, without any cell failure. These results indicate that the integration of Si, MCNTs, and G is a promising approach to avoiding Li‐metal anodes and achieving high and stable capacities for Li‐S batteries. This work addresses the fabrication of an integrated structured Si/CNT/G composite anode by simple, low‐temperature heat treatment and is used as a Li‐metal‐free anode for advanced Li‐S batteries. The tough framework of CNTs/G endow required structural stability and intrinsic conductivity to Si nanoparticles and help to mitigate the volume changes and other drawbacks of Si. The fabricated Si‐sulfur full‐cell delivered high energy densities which are suitable for Li+ energy storage applications and a worthy substitute to replace unsafe Li‐metal anodes.