Room temperature synthesis of SiO_x/rGO composite as anode material in lithium ion battery

We explore a simple, room temperature, bottom up approach for the synthesis of SiOx dispersed over rGO (reduced graphene oxide) sheets forming SiOx/rGO composite. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of SiOx with the major peak position at 21.9° Bragg angle. The microstructure of the composite revealed a layer like morphology and the uniform distribution of SiOx as observed by the element mapping in the transmission electron microscopy. The SiOx/rGO composite was used as anode in lithium ion battery and the composite achieved appreciable capacity (749 mAh g⁻¹ @100 mA g⁻¹) in the first cycle and 61 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 charge/discharge cycles with 99% coulombic efficiency.