Mesoporous Nano‐Si Anode for Li‐ion Batteries Produced by Magnesio‐Mechanochemical Reduction of Amorphous SiO₂

Abstract

Abstract The synthesis of nano‐sized Si with various microstructures has been studied intensively to produce anode materials for Li‐rechargeable batteries. Methods such as chemical/physical vapor deposition (CVD/PVD) and wet‐chemical processes are currently used to produce nano‐sized Si; however, the complicated synthesis procedures and low production yields are critical problems that hinder commercialization. We present a method for producing large quantities of mesoporous nano‐sized Si through the reduction of amorphous SiO 2 with Mg metal, by using a high‐energy mechanical milling process (i.e., magnesio‐mechanochemical processing) for 1 h. A mesoporous nano‐sized Si electrode shows excellent electrochemical performance as an anode for Li‐ion batteries, achieving a capacity greater than 1600 mAh g −1 over 30 cycles.