Application of Graphene Prepared by Ultrasonic Exfoliation Method as a Conductive Additive in SiO Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this study, graphene produced via the ultrasonic exfoliation method was applied as a conductive aid for a SiO anode. The SiO anode with multilayer graphene demonstrated superior cycling, high-rate charge, and high-rate discharge properties, despite the resistivity of the active material layer being slightly higher than that of conventional AB. These properties are due not only to the electronic conductivity of graphene but also to effects related to its shape. A comparison of two types of graphene with different size produced via the same manufacturing method confirmed that graphene with a smaller size is superior in terms of the number of cycles, high rate-of-charge, and high rate-of-discharge; this may be due to the difference in the number of conductive paths formed within the active material layer due to the difference in the number of graphene particles per weight.