Silicon is a promising anode material that is widely investigated as a potential successor for graphite since it can store significantly more energy per mass and volume. Tremendous advancement towards commercialization of silicon anodes - including improving cycle life and minimizing electrode swelling - has been made over the past decade. Proper electrode engineering has brought silicon-based anode materials closer to commercialization into consumer applications. However, silicon technology has not yet been significantly commercialized due to a number of shortcomings. In particular, cycle life and irreversible capacity losses (ICL) due to side reactions continue to be issues that plague their widespread use.

 

Graphene, an atomically thin version of graphite widely regarded as a wonder material, has the potential to overcome many of the remaining issues due to graphene's unique combination of high surface area, high in-plane electrical conductivity, excellent tensile modulus and mechanical durability. Therefore, silicon-graphene composites have the ability to combine the high energy provided by silicon along with the high cycle life offered by graphene's unique properties. Indeed, properly designed composites can demonstrate significant increases of 10-30% energy density compared to commercial cells.

Chip leads business development and marketing for NanoGraf and manages our partnership efforts with customers and manufacturers. He brings years of experience assisting customers in the development and manufacturing of some of the world's best-selling consumer electronic and medical device products at Exponent, Inc. Trained as a polymer material scientist, he also previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of Intezyne Technologies, a biotechnology company focused on the development of advanced, polymer nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. As a researcher, Chip is listed as an inventor on 20 patent families that represent 28 issued US and international patents and has published 18 peer-reviewed papers. He received a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a B.S. in Polymer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

NanoGraf Corporation is a battery materials venture developing silicon-graphene anodes for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. NanoGraf anodes offer higher battery capacity and faster rate performacne, all while being produced via a low cost solution chemistry-based manufacturing process. NanoGraf seeks to change the landscape for lithium-ion batteries so they can meet the demands of a wide range of industries, from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. Herein, we will present the recent progress and development of silicon-graphene composites to accelerate their commercial adoption.