Silicon anodes in lithium-ion batteries: A deep dive into research trends and global collaborations

Le résumé fourni par la source

Silicon (Si) is a promising anode material for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) due to its high theoretical capacity. However, Si undergoes a significant volumetric expansion during lithiation, leading to cracking, pulverization, and poor long-term electrochemical performance. To tackle these challenges, numerous strategies have been proposed, resulting in a rapidly expanding and diverse field of research. Despite this surge in Si-related studies, a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the literature on Si anode applications in LiBs has not been thoroughly examined yet. This study aims to bridge this gap through a bibliometric analysis with the objective of providing insights into key research themes, trends over time, emerging topics, and future research directions. Furthermore, it highlights prolific authors, organizations, countries, and foundational works in this area, offering a valuable reference for inclined researchers. For this purpose, a dataset of 4508 publications from 1970 to 2024 was retrieved from the Web of Science and analyzed to identify trends in leading journals, publication outputs, disciplines, and collaborations. The analysis shows that 2005–2014 was a “golden period” of substantial innovation, while more recent work reflects incremental yet interdisciplinary advancements. Notably, the collaboration network among prolific authors was found to be relatively weak, with the majority of the authors having only two or fewer connections. In contrast, strong collaboration was observed among leading institutions in the field. A thorough keyword analysis revealed that the research focus over the years can be categorized into three main themes: (1) electrochemical performance, (2) nanostructures and composite electrodes, and (3) electrochemical processes and mechanisms. Additionally, recently emerging topics include understanding the mechanisms of Si anodes and improving their performance through novel binders, pre-lithiation strategies, and advanced electrolytes. This study quantitatively analyzes for the first time the development of Si anodes for LiBs, offering an invaluable reference for researchers looking to engage in and contribute to this field.

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