Our new paper in Chemical Engineering Journal (IF:13.2) "Interplanar Spacing Modulation and Holey Graphene Architecture for Enhanced Lithium Storage in Silicon Anodes"

Silicon anodes in lithium-ion batteries suffer from severe volume change and sluggish through-plane ion transport in stacked graphene hosts. Here we report a dual-modulation strategy that couples thermal reduction with controlled H₂O₂ etching to build a holey reduced graphene oxide (HRGO) framework around silicon. Reduction restores a continuous graphitic network while maintaining a compact interlayer structure; subsequent oxidative etching perforates the basal planes and modestly expands the interplanar galleries relative to reduced graphene oxide (RGO), creating short, wide Li⁺ pathways. Across various silicon-graphene composite materials, multi-modal characterization verifies defect/porosity tuning and etching-driven spacing expansion, consistent with enhanced battery performance. Electrochemically, Si–HRGO delivers stable cycling (1659 mAh g⁻¹ after 300 cycles, 72.6% retention at 0.5 C) with suppressed swelling, higher capacitive contribution, faster Li⁺ diffusion, and reduced impedance growth. XPS depth profiling reveals an inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase (Li₂O/LiF/lithium silicates) and deeper lithium retention within HRGO matrices, supporting durable interfacial chemistry. The combined interplanar-spacing modulation and holey architecture co-optimize ion transport, mechanical compliance, and interfacial stability via a scalable process. This framework is generalizable to other 2D material hosts and beyond-Li chemistries where through-plane flux and structural resilience are concurrently required.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894726009757