Sulfur-doped silicon oxycarbide by facile pyrolysis process as an outstanding stable performance lithium-ion battery anode.

Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) is drawing significant attention as a potential anode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its remarkable cycle life and the distinctive Si-O-C hybrid bonding within its structure. However, a notable drawback of SiOC-based electrodes is their poor electrical conductivity. In this study, we synthesized sulfur-doped silicon oxycarbide (S-SiOC) facile one-pot pyrolysis from a mixture of commercial silicone oil with 1-dodecanethiol. Upon testing the S-SiOC electrode materials, we observed significant attributes, including an outstanding specific capacity (650 mA h g at 1 A g), exceptional capacity retention (89.2% after 2000 cycles at 1 A g), and substantial potential for high mass loading of active materials (up to 2.2 mg cm). Sulfur doping led to enhanced diffusivity of lithium ions, as investigated through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) tests. Consequently, this sulfur-doped silicon oxycarbide, exhibiting excellent electrochemical performance, holds promising potential as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries.