Self-assembled carbon-silicon carbonitride nanocomposites: High-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

A new class of nanocomposites comprising an amorphous silicon carbonitride matrix and carbon nanoclusters was synthesized by decomposing polymeric precursors with thermally induced phase separation. Electrochemical measurements show that the nanocomposite with 30% of carbon nanoclusters exhibits a specific capacity of 480 mA h g^-1 and excellent cycling performance. The high capacity of the nanocomposites is attributed to the formation of a novel structure around the SiCN-C interface. The excellent electrochemical properties, together with the simple, low-cost processing, make the nanocomposites very promising for Li-ion battery applications.