The ability to spontaneously repair damage, which is termed as self-healing, is an important survival feature in nature because it increases the lifetime of most living creatures. This feature is highly desirable for rechargeable batteries because the lifetime of high-capacity electrodes, such as silicon anodes, has been shortened by the mechanical fractures generated during the cycling process. Here, inspired by nature, we apply hydrogen-bonding-directed self-healing polymers to silicon microparticle anodes to overcome their short cycle life. Coating Si anodes with a room temperature repeatable self-healing polymer, we show that the low-cost native Si microparticles (~3-8 �m), for which stable deep galvanostatic cycling was previously impossible, can now have an excellent cycle life. We attain a cycle life of 10 times longer than state-of-art anodes made from Si microparticles while retaining a high capacity (up to >3,000 mAh/g). Cracks and damage in the coating during cycling can be spontaneously healed due to the presence of the self-healing polymers rationally designed to have features, such as room-temperature reversible healing due to the hydrogen bonding chemistry, the amorphous structure, its low glass transition temperature and the high stretchability.[1] Chao Wang*, Hui Wu*, Zheng Chen, Matthew T. McDowell, Yi Cui, Zhenan Bao (* equal contribution)Nat. Chem.  2013, 5, 1042-1048.[2] Benjamine C-K. Tee*, Chao Wang*, Ranulfo Allen, Zhenan Bao (* equal contribution)Nat. Nanotechnol.  2012, 7, 825-832.[3] Chao Wang, Nan Liu, Ranulfo Allen, Jeffrey. B. Tok,Zhenan BaoAdv. Mater.   2013, 25, 5785-5790.

Self-healing polymers for high-performance lithium ion batteries

248th National Meeting (2014)

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