A design of coaxial hollow nanocables of carbon nanotubes and silicon composite (CNTs@Silicon) was presented, and the lithiation/delithiation behavior was investigated. The FIB-SEM studies demonstrated hollow structured silicon tends to expand inward and shrink outward during lithiation/delithiation, which reveal the mechanism of inhibitive effect of the excessive growth of solid-electrolyte interface by hollow structured silicon. The as-prepared coaxial hollow nanocables demonstrate an impressive reversible specific capacity of 1150 mAh g-1 over 500 cycles, giving an average Coulombic efficiency of >99.9%. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the SEI film excessive growth is prevented.
Keywords: Li-ion battery; carbon nanotubes; high Coulombic efficiency; hollow structured silicon; solid−electrolyte interface confinement.