Facile Fabrication of Silicon-Manganese Composite Anode from Steel Slag and Electrochemical Investigation for Li-Ion Batteries

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are growing in modern energy storage systems for motor vehicles and portable devices. Unfortunately, the graphite anode material in typical batteries cannot support significant increases in energy density, because its specific capacity is limited. Si, with a very high theoretical capacity, gives a promising way to make high-energy-density batteries; even so, serious challenges like excessive volume expansion during charging result in low cycle life. The research focuses on the electrochemical investigation of a Si-Mn composite anode fabricated from industrial steel slag for 20 electrochemical cycles. The cell potential increases gradually and becomes stable after a few cycles. However, the cell exhibited stable discharge and charge current profile over 20 cycles. Additionally, the cell showed fluctuating coulombic efficiency (CE) initially, which became stable at ⁓65% after 19 cycles.