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Unregulated lithium (Li) growth is the major cause of low Coulombic efficiency, short cycle life and safety hazards for rechargeable Li metal batteries. Strategies that aim to achieve large granular Li deposits have been extensively explored, and yet it remains a challenge to achieve the ideal Li deposits, which consist of large Li particles that are seamlessly packed on the electrode and can be reversibly deposited and stripped. Here we report a dense Li deposition (99.49% electrode density) with an ideal columnar structure that is achieved by controlling the uniaxial stack pressure during battery operation. Using multiscale characterization and simulation, we elucidate the critical role of stack pressure on Li nucleation, growth and dissolution processes and propose a Li-reservoir-testing protocol to maintain the ideal Li morphology during extended cycling. The precise manipulation of Li deposition and dissolution is a critical step to enable fast charging and a low-temperature operation for Li metal batteries. Li electrodeposition is a fundamental process in Li metal batteries and its reversibility is crucial for battery operation. The authors investigate the effects of stack pressure on Li deposition and associated processes and discuss strategies for achieving dense Li deposits and practical Li metal batteries.

Lithium metal batteries have great advantages over state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries in term of energy density and cost, which bring huge opportunity for long-range and low-cost electrical veh...

Lithium metal anodes have attracted much attention as candidates for high-energy batteries, but there have been few reports of long cycling behaviour, and the degradation mechanism of realistic high-energy Li metal cells remains unclear. Here, we develop a prototypical 300 Wh kg−1 (1.0 Ah) pouch cell by integrating a Li metal anode, a LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 cathode and a compatible electrolyte. Under small uniform external pressure, the cell undergoes 200 cycles with 86% capacity retention and 83% energy retention. In the initial 50 cycles, flat Li foil converts into large Li particles that are entangled in the solid-electrolyte interphase, which leads to rapid volume expansion of the anode (cell thickening of 48%). As cycling continues, the external pressure helps the Li anode maintain good contact between the Li particles, which ensures a conducting percolation pathway for both ions and electrons, and thus the electrochemical reactions continue to occur. Accordingly, the solid Li particles evolve into a porous structure, which manifests in substantially reduced cell swelling by 19% in the subsequent 150 cycles. Much has been said about the high-energy, long-lasting potential of Li metal batteries, and yet little has been demonstrated at the cell scale. Here, Jun Liu and colleagues demonstrate a Li metal pouch cell with a 300 Wh kg−1 energy density and a 200-cycle lifetime.

Summary Lithium (Li)-metal batteries have regained broad interest in the battery research community. Although many studies on Li anode have been published in recent years, it is difficult to evaluate and compare these advances for practical applications. A key challenge is a gap between materials and component properties and the achievable large-format cell-level performance. In this paper, we investigate the critical experimental parameters that determine the cycle number of coin cells to understand the performance variations reported in the literature. To define the range of cell parameters, we exemplify a representative Li-metal pouch cell with specific energy of 300 Wh/kg to provide an effective validation of electrode materials and accurate cell performance evaluations. Based on the pouch-cell-level requirements, we propose a set of coin-cell parameters and testing conditions to expedite the discovery of new materials and their full integration into realistic battery systems.

Unregulated lithium (Li) growth is the major cause of low Coulombic efficiency, short cycle life and safety hazards for rechargeable Li metal batteries. Strategies that aim to achieve large granular Li deposits have been extensively explored, and yet it remains a challenge to achieve the ideal Li deposits, which consist of large Li particles that are seamlessly packed on the electrode and can be reversibly deposited and stripped. Here we report a dense Li deposition (99.49% electrode density) with an ideal columnar structure that is achieved by controlling the uniaxial stack pressure during battery operation. Using multiscale characterization and simulation, we elucidate the critical role of stack pressure on Li nucleation, growth and dissolution processes and propose a Li-reservoir-testing protocol to maintain the ideal Li morphology during extended cycling. The precise manipulation of Li deposition and dissolution is a critical step to enable fast charging and a low-temperature operation for Li metal batteries.

Objective. To investigate the natural history and related factors of the pancreatic β-cell function in Chinese type 1 diabetic patients from 3C study Shantou center. Method. Stimulated C-peptide levels from follow-up data of 201 individuals in 3C study Shantou subgroup starting in 2012 were used. Residual β-cell function was defined as stimulated C − peptide level ≥ 0.2 pmol / mL , on the basis of cut-points derived from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). Results. 36.8% of patients had residual β-cell function, and the percentage was 68.2% in newly diagnosed diabetic patients. COX regression analysis indicated that the age of diagnosis, HbA1C level, and duration were independent factors of residual β-cell function in individuals with ≤5 years duration, but in those with duration ≥5 years, only the age of diagnosis was a predictor. The pancreatic β-cell function mainly declined in the first 5 years of the duration, and the rate of decline was correlated negatively with the duration and age of diagnosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the cut-off point of stimulated C-peptide was 0.615 pmol/mL in patients with

Background: The pathogenesis and phenotyping of biliary atresia (BA) is not clear. We aimed to provide a new view to identify the subtype of BA and explore the underlying pathogenesis. Methods: We collected the BA microarray datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and performed an unsupervised cluster analysis on abundance of immune cells and gene expressions and identified de novo classified BA patients. Then, we explored the possible molecular mechanisms of each subtype by functional enrichment analysis and the hub genes. Findings: First we classified BA patients into three subtypes and validated in GSE15235 dataset. Then we identified representative genes and immune cells for each subtype. The result of functional enrichment analysis and hub genes in subtype 2 was correlated with immune receptor activity, cytokine receptor, signaling by interleukin including IL-4, IL-13, IL-10, viral protein interaction, this may infer subtype 2 was corresponded to cytomegalovirus-associated variants of the clinical phenotyping classifies and modulation of interleukin signaling may represent potential novel therapeutic approaches. Neutrophil degranulation by Reactome pathway analysis existed in all the subtypes. Interpretation: The subtypes and function analysis identified in this study help us understand the underlying pathogenesis of BA, and provide new ideas for basic and clinical study. Funding: This work was supported by a grant from the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1315400) and 5010 Project of Sun Yat-sen University (No.2018024). Declaration of Interest: None to declare.

Alagille syndrome (AGS) is an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder caused by mutations in theEight adults diagnosed with AGS at our hospital between June 2016 and June 2019 were included in the study. Clinical data, biochemical results, imaging results, liver histopathology, and genetic testing were analyzed.Three female and five male patients with a median age of 24.5 years at the time of diagnosis were included in the analysis. The clinical manifestations were adult-onset (62.5%, 5/8), cholestasis (50%, 4/8), butterfly vertebrae (62.5%, 5/8), systolic murmurs (12.5%, 1/8), typical facies (12.5%, 1/8), posterior embryotoxon, and renal abnormalities (0/8). Genetic sequencing showed that all patients had mutations, with four occurring in theThe clinical manifestations highlighted by the current diagnostic criteria for most adults with AGS are atypical. Those who do not meet the criteria but are highly suspicious of having AGS need further evaluation, especially genetic testing.

The prognostic role of adjacent nontumor tissue in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is still not clear. The activity changes of immunologic and hallmark gene sets in adjacent nontumor tissues may substantially impact on prognosis by affecting proliferation of liver cells and colonization of circulating tumor cells after HCC treatment measures such as hepatectomy. We aimed to identify HCC subtypes and prognostic gene sets based on the activity changes of gene sets in tumor and nontumor tissues, to improve patient outcomes. We comprehensively revealed the activity changes of immunologic and hallmark gene sets in HCC and nontumor samples by gene set variation analysis (GSVA), and identified three clinically relevant subtypes of HCC by nonnegative matrix factorization method (NMF). Patients with subtype 1 had good overall survival, whereas those with subtype 2 and subtype 3 had poor prognosis. Patients with subtype 1 in the validation group also tended to live longer. We also identified three prognostic gene sets in tumor and four prognostic gene sets in nontumor by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method (LASSO). Interestingly, functional enrichment analysis revealed that in nontumor tissues, genes from four gene sets correlated with immune reaction, cell adhesion, whereas in tumor tissue, genes from three gene sets closely correlated with cell cycle. Our results offer new insights on accurately evaluating prognosis—the important role of gene sets in both tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues, suggesting that when selecting for HCC treatment modality, changes in tumor and nontumor tissues should also be considered, especially after hepatectomy.

The very high specific capacity of Li metal makes it an ideal anode for high-energy batteries. However, Li dendrite growth and the formation of isolated (or "dead") Li during repeated Li plating/stripping processes leads to a low coulombic efficiency (CE). In this work, we discovered, for the first time, that electrode edge effects play an important role in the failure of Li-metal batteries. The dead Li formed on the edge of Cu substrate was systematically investigated through SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and 2D X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To minimize the Li loss at the edge of the Cu exposed to pressure-free space, a modified Li∥Cu cell configuration with a Cu electrode smaller than Li metal is preferred. It was clearly demonstrated that using an electrode configuration with a minimal open space or pressure-free space across electrodes can reduce accumulation of dead Li during cycling and increase Li CE. This phenomenon was also verified in Li-metal batteries (Li∥LiNi1/3 Mn1/3 Co1/3 O2 ) and should be considered in the design of practical Li-metal batteries.

Summary Rechargeable lithium metal batteries are regarded as the "holy grail" of energy storage systems, but their practical applications have long been hindered by poor cyclability and severe safety concerns. In this work, we report a fire-retardant localized high-concentration electrolyte consisting of 1.2 M lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in a mixture of flame-retardant triethyl phosphate/bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether (1:3 by mol) for 4-V class lithium metal batteries. This electrolyte enables stable, dendrite-free cycling of lithium metal anodes with high Coulombic efficiency of up to 99.2%. Moreover, it exhibits excellent anodic stability even up to 5.0 V and greatly enhances the cycling performance of lithium metal batteries. A Li||LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 battery using this electrolyte can retain >97% capacity after 600 cycles at 1 C rate (ca. 1.6 mA cm−2), corresponding to a negligible capacity decay of

Summary To enable next-generation high-energy-density lithium (Li)-metal batteries (LMBs), an electrolyte that has simultaneous high Li-metal Coulombic efficiency (CE) and high anodic stability on cathodes is of significant importance. Sulfones are known for strong resistance against oxidation, yet their application in LMBs is restricted because of their poor compatibility with Li-metal anodes, high viscosity, and poor wettability. Here, we demonstrate that a high Li CE over 98% can be achieved in concentrated sulfone-based electrolytes. Furthermore, the viscosity and wettability issues of sulfones are resolved by the addition of a fluorinated ether, 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl ether, to form a localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE), which not only provides further improvement in Li CE (98.8%) but also remains anodically stable with high-voltage cathodes, suppresses Al corrosion, and enables LMBs to operate in a wide temperature range. As a result, significantly improved cycling performance of LMBs has been realized with sulfone-based LHCE.

We report a carbonate-based localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE) with a fluorinated ether as a diluent for 4-V class lithium metal batteries (LMBs), which enables dendrite-free Li deposi...

Sodium (Na) metal is a promising anode for Na-ion batteries. However, the high reactivity of Na metal with electrolytes and the low Na metal cycling efficiency have limited its practical application in rechargeable Na metal batteries. High-concentration electrolytes (HCE, ≥4 M) consisting of sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (NaFSI) and ether solvent could ensure the stable cycling of Na metal with high Coulombic efficiency but at the cost of high viscosity, poor wettability, and high salt cost. Here, we report that the salt concentration could be significantly reduced (≤1.5 M) by a hydrofluoroether as an “inert” diluent, which maintains the solvation structures of HCE, thereby forming a localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE). A LHCE [2.1 M NaFSI/1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME)–bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether (BTFE) (solvent molar ratio 1:2)] enables dendrite-free Na deposition with a high Coulombic efficiency of >99%, fast charging (20C), and stable cycling (90.8% retention after 40 000 cycles) of Na∥Na...

Lithium metal is a promising anode candidate for the next-generation rechargeable battery due to its highest specific capacity (3860 mA h g−1) and lowest potential, but low Coulombic efficiency and formation of lithium dendrites hinder its practical application. Here, we report a self-formed flexible hybrid solid-electrolyte interphase layer through co-deposition of organosulfides/organopolysulfides and inorganic lithium salts using sulfur-containing polymers as an additive in the electrolyte. The organosulfides/organopolysulfides serve as “plasticizer” in the solid-electrolyte interphase layer to improve its mechanical flexibility and toughness. The as-formed robust solid-electrolyte interphase layers enable dendrite-free lithium deposition and significantly improve Coulombic efficiency (99% over 400 cycles at a current density of 2 mA cm−2). A lithium-sulfur battery based on this strategy exhibits long cycling life (1000 cycles) and good capacity retention. This study reveals an avenue to effectively fabricate stable solid-electrolyte interphase layer for solving the issues associated with lithium metal anodes., The practical application of lithium metal anodes suffers from the poor Coulombic efficiency and growth of lithium dendrites. Here, the authors report an approach to enable the self-formation of stable and flexible solid-electrolyte interphase layers which serve to address both issues.

Lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries have attracted great attention as a promising energy storage technology, but so far their practical applications are greatly hindered by issues of polysulfide shuttling and unstable lithium/electrolyte interface. To address these issues, a feasible strategy is to construct a rechargeable prelithiated graphite/sulfur batteries. In this work, a fluorinated ether of bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether (BTFE) was reported to blend with 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) for making a multifunctional electrolyte of 1.0 M LiTFSI DOL/BTFE (1:1, v/v) to enable high performance prelithiated graphite/S batteries. First, the electrolyte significantly reduces polysulfide solubility to suppress the deleterious polysulfide shuttling and thus improves capacity retention of sulfur cathodes. Second, thanks to the low viscosity and good wettability, the fluorinated electrolyte dramatically enhances the reaction kinetics and sulfur utilization of high-areal-loading sulfur cathodes. More importantly, this electrolyte forms a stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on graphite surface and thus enables remarkable cyclability of graphite anodes. By coupling prelithiated graphite anodes with sulfur cathodes with high areal capacity of ∼3 mAh cm

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is a promising energy storage technology to replace lithium ion batteries for higher energy density and lower cost. Dissolution of lithium polysulfide intermediates in conventional Li-S electrolytes is known as one of the key technical barriers to the development of Li-S, because it promotes redistribution and irreversible deposition of Li 2 S, and also forces large amounts of electrolyte to be used, shortening cycling life and driving down cell energy density. Recently, dimethyl disulfide as a functional co-solvent has been demonstrated to show an alternate electrochemical reaction pathway for sulfur cathodes by the formation of dimethyl polysulfides and lithium organosulfides as intermediates and reduction products. In this work, comprehensive studies show that this new pathway not only provides high capacity but also enables excellent capacity retention through a built-in automatic discharge shutoff mechanism by tuning carbon/sulfur ratio in sulfur cathodes to reduce unfavorable Li 2 S formation. Furthermore, this new electrolyte system is also found to enable high capacity of high-sulfur-loading cathodes with low electrolyte/sulfur (E/S) ratios, such as a stable specific capacity of around 1000 mAh g −1 using a low electrolyte amount (i.e, E/S ratio of 5 mL g −1 ) and high-sulfur-loading (4 mg cm −2 ) cathodes. This electrolyte system almost doubles the capacity obtained with conventional electrolytes under the same harsh conditions. These results highlight the practical potential of this electrolyte system to enable high-energy-density Li-S batteries.

Silicon (Si) remains one of the most promising anode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The key challenge for Si anodes is the huge volume change during lithiation-delithiation cycles that leads to electrode pulverization and rapid capacity fading. Here, we report a hierarchical porous Si (hp-Si) with a tailored porous structure [tunable primary pores (20-200 nm) and secondary nanopores (∼3-10 nm)] that can effectively minimize the volume expansion. An in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study revealed that the hp-Si material with the same porosity but larger primary pores can more effectively accommodate lithiation-induced volume expansion, giving rise to a much reduced apparent volume expansion on both material and electrode levels. Chemomechanical modeling revealed that because of the different relative stiffnesses of the lithiated and unlithiated Si phases, the primary pore size plays a key role in accommodating the volume expansion of lithiated Si. The higher structural stability of the hp-Si materials with larger primary pores also maintains the fast diffusion channels of the connective pores, giving rise to better power capability and capacity retention upon electrochemical cycling. Our findings point toward an optimized hp-Si material with minimal volume change during electrochemical cycling for next-generation LIBs.

A mesoporous Sn/SnO2 composite has been synthesized by a self-templating pore formation process at room temperature without any external templates. When evaluated as an anode for sodium-ion batteries, the composite material exhibited stable performance and high Coulombic efficiency, in addition to excellent rate performance.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have recently received great attention because they promise to provide energy density far beyond current lithium ion batteries. Typically, Li-S batteries operate by conversion of sulfur to reversibly form different soluble lithium polysulfide intermediates and insoluble lithium sulfides through multistep redox reactions. Herein, we report a functional electrolyte system incorporating dimethyl disulfide as a co-solvent that enables a new electrochemical reduction pathway for sulfur cathodes. This pathway uses soluble dimethyl polysulfides and lithium organosulfides as intermediates and products, which can boost cell capacity and lead to improved discharge-charge reversibility and cycling performance of sulfur cathodes. This electrolyte system can potentially enable Li-S batteries to achieve high energy density.

Here we report the case of a 69-year-old Chinese Han woman who presented with liver cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, skin hyperpigmentation, hyperferritinaemia and high transferrin saturation. Subsequent genetic analyses identified a novel heterozygous mutation (p.Cys326Phe) in the SLC40A1 gene. This is the first report regarding a SLC40A1 mutation in the Chinese Han population and provides novel clinical evidence for the importance of p.Cys326 in SLC40A1 gene function.

Despite the high theoretical capacity of lithium-sulfur batteries, their practical applications are severely hindered by a fast capacity decay, stemming from the dissolution and diffusion of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte. A novel functional carbon composite (carbon-nanotube-interpenetrated mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres, MNCS/CNT), which can strongly adsorb lithium polysulfides, is now reported to act as a sulfur host. The nitrogen functional groups of this composite enable the effective trapping of lithium polysulfides on electroactive sites within the cathode, leading to a much improved electrochemical performance (1200 mAh g(-1) after 200 cycles). The enhancement in adsorption can be attributed to the chemical bonding of lithium ions by nitrogen functional groups in the MNCS/CNT framework. Furthermore, the micrometer-sized spherical structure of the material yields a high areal capacity (ca. 6 mAh cm(-2)) with a high sulfur loading of approximately 5 mg cm(-2), which is ideal for practical applications of the lithium-sulfur batteries.

Li-alloy-based anode materials are very promising for breaking current energy limits of lithium-ion battery technologies. Unfortunately, these materials still suffer from poor solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) stability, resulting in unsatisfied electrochemical performances. The typical SEI formation method, electrochemical decomposition of electrolytes onto the active material surface, lacks a deliberate control of the SEI functions and structures. Here we propose a general method of manipulating the formation process, chemical composition, and morphology of the SEI for Li-alloy anodes, using Si and Ge nanoparticle anodes as the platform. The SEI was fabricated through a covalent anchoring of multiple functional components onto the active material surface, followed by electrochemical decomposition of the functional components and conventional electrolyte. Click reaction, serving as the covalent anchoring approach, allows an accurate control of the SEI composition and structure at the molecular level through tuning the chemical structure and amount of variety of functional components and provides an intimate contact between the SEI and the Li-alloy material surface contributed by the covalent bonding. The optimized Si nanoparticle SEI, functionalized by a unique combination of diverse components and containing a high concentration of organic components attributed to the preanchored functional components, presented a stable composition and durable morphology during cycling and led to an improved first cycle efficiency of Si nanoparticle anodes and its long cycle life in a full cell. This general method displays potential benefits to construct stable SEIs for other Li-alloy anodes.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is becoming feasible for identification or diagnosis of human infectious diseases. In the present study, we aimed to develop a bioinformatic method for dengue virus identification by comparison against different database for variant types of samples and BLASTn and ViPR databases. We collected 12 different types of samples from five dengue-virus-infected patients and one sample from a healthy volunteer (control). RNA libraries were sequenced from all sample filtrates and enriched in virus load. The query sequences were aligned against NCBI BLASTn and ViPR databases. The fraction of double-stranded DNA query sequences against BLASTn was >75% compared with those against ViPR, and the abundance of single-stranded RNA in libraries against ViPR was more than those from the BLASTn database. The fraction of ssRNA against ViPR was higher than that against BLASTn in serum samples compared with urine and saliva samples. The taxonomic classification of viral reads grouped in different families indicated all samples were classified in dsDNA Herpesvirales and Poxviridae families, and the sequencing reads grouped in the Flaviviridae family were mainly seen in serum and urine samples. Comparing the components of total sequencing reads from each sample and dengue virus sequences, human reads comprised 85% of the total reads from serum and saliva, and 25% of total virus counts from urine samples. Even though the number of read counts was higher in serum than urine and saliva samples, the sequencing classification may provide an effective primary clue to detect dengue virus or similar related symptomatic virus infection.

A hybrid supercapacitor constructed of a Si-based anode and a porous carbon cathode is demonstrated with both high power and energy densities. Boron-doping is employed to improve the rate capability of the Si-based anode (B-Si/SiO2/C). At a high current density of 6.4 A/g, B-Si/SiO2/C delivers a capacity of 685 mAh/g, 2.4 times that of the undoped Si/SiO2/C. Benefiting from the high rate performance along with low working voltage, high capacity, and good cycling stability of B-Si/SiO2/C, the hybrid supercapacitor exhibits a high energy density of 128 Wh/kg at 1229 W/kg. Even when power density increases to the level of a conventional supercapacitor (9704 W/kg), 89 Wh/kg can be obtained, the highest values of any hybrid supercapacitor to date. Long cycling life (capacity retention of 70% after 6000 cycles) and low self-discharge rate (voltage retention of 82% after 50 hours) are also achieved. This work opens an avenue for development of high-performance hybrid supercapacitors using high-performance Si-based anodes.

V2O5 nanoparticles Graphene nanosheets Solvothermal synthesis Electrochemical performance Lithium ion batteries a b s t r a c t In this work, V2O5/graphene nanocomposites have been synthesized by a facile solvothermal approach. The V2O5 nanoparticles, around 20–40 nm in size, were encapsulated in the 2D graphene matrix. The reversible Li-cycling properties of V2O5/graphene have been evaluated by galvanostatic discharge–charge cycling, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance spectroscopy. Compared with the bare V2O5 nanoparticles, the V2O5/graphene nanocomposites exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance with higher reversible capacity and improved cycling stability and rate capability. The graphene nanosheets act not only as an electronically conductive matrix to improve the electronic and ionic conductivity of the composite electrode, but also as a flexible buffer matrix to maintain the structural integrity of the composite electrodes by preventing particle agglomeration, thus leading to the improvement of the electrochemical performance of V2O5.

Flexible freestanding sandwich-structured sulfur cathodes are developed for lithium–sulfur batteries, which exhibit excellent cycling stability and rate capability. Moreover, a high areal capacity of ∼4 mA h cm−2 is demonstrated based on this new cathode configuration with high sulfur loading (∼4 mg S cm−2).

Titanium nitride (TiN) coated silicon nanoparticles were synthesized via reduction of TiO2-coated silicon nanoparticles under nitrogen. When evaluated as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, the material exhibited stable performance and excellent coulombic efficiency for 100 charge–discharge cycles at 0.1 C rate, in addition to significantly enhanced rate performance.

We report the synthesis of micro-sized silicon–carbon (Si–C) composites, which simultaneously possess primary sub-10 nm Si particles and secondary micro-sized aggregation coated with carbon. Because of this unique structure, the as-synthesized Si–C composite anode can deliver excellent cycling stability with a high reversible specific capacity (∼1600 mA h g−1) within 150 cycles at 400 mA g−1. Moreover, a high volumetric capacity of ∼1088 mA h cm−3 was demonstrated by using this composite cathode, which is 5 times higher than that of commercially available nano-silicon based anodes.