Anode Properties of Cr(x)V(1–x)Si(2)/Si Composite Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

[Image: see text] We have reported the effects of substituting a transition metal in silicide on the electrochemical performance of the silicide/Si composite anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs); the Cr(0.5)V(0.5)Si(2)/Si electrode exhibited much better cyclability compared with CrSi(2)/Si and VSi(2)/Si electrodes. Herein, we investigated the electrochemical performance of a Cr(x)V(1–x)Si(2)/Si slurry electrode for its application in LIBs, and the results obtained were compared to those of a gas deposition (GD) electrode, which was comprised of only active materials. The slurry electrode exhibited a superior cycling life as with the GD electrode. After charge–discharge cycles, the expansion of the electrode thickness of CrSi(2)/Si and Cr(0.5)V(0.5)Si(2)/Si was smaller than that of VSi(2)/Si, and VSi(2) was significantly pulverized compared with the other silicides. It is considered that VSi(2) deformed easily by the stress from Si expansion and pulverized because the hardness of VSi(2) was the smallest among the silicides used in this study. These results reveal that Cr(0.5)V(0.5)Si(2)/Si has great potential as an anode material for next-generation LIBs and hardness is an important property for compositing silicide with Si.