Materials Engineering of High-Performance Anodes as Layered Composites with Self-Assembled Conductive Networks

The practical implementation of nanomaterials in high capacity batteries has been hindered by the large mechanical stresses during ion insertion/extraction processes that lead to the loss of physical integrity of the active layers. The challenge of combining the high ion storage capacity with resilience to deformations and efficient charge transport is common for nearly all battery technologies. Layer-by-layer (LBL/LbL) engineered nanocomposites are able to mitigate structural design challenges for materials requiring the combination of contrarian properties. Herein, we show that materials engineering capabilities of LBL augmented by self-organization of nanoparticles (NPs) can be exploited for constructing multiscale composites for high capacity lithium ion anodes that mitigate the contrarian nature of three central parameters most relevant for advanced batteries: large intercalation capacity, high conductance, and robust mechanics. The LBL multilayers were made from three function-determining components...