Towards Ultrathick Battery Electrodes: Aligned Carbon Nanotube – Enabled Architecture

Abstract

Vapor deposition techniques were utilized to synthesize very thick (∼1 mm) Li-ion battery anodes consisting of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes coated with silicon and carbon. The produced anode demonstrated ultrahigh thermal (>400 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹) and high electrical (>20 S·m⁻¹) conductivities, high cycle stability, and high average capacity (>3000 mAh·g_Si⁻¹). The processes utilized allow for the conformal deposition of other materials, thus making it a promising architecture for the development of Li-ion anodes and cathodes with greatly enhanced electrical and thermal conductivities.