Micro-sized Silicon Carbonitride Prepared by Radical Polymerization as a High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries

Xin Xia; Zhen-Peng Zhang; De-Shuo Wang; Yi-Han Li; Jing-Jiang Sun; Jian-Jiang He; Qing-Fu Wang; Wei Zhao

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3659-9

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Micro-sized Silicon Carbonitride Prepared by Radical Polymerization as a High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-07-27

- Micro-sized Silicon Carbonitride Prepared by Radical Polymerization as a High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 8, Pages: 2659-2669(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  Key Laboratory of Rubber-plastics, Ministry of Education, School of Polymer Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
- Author bio：
  
  wangqf@qust.edu.cn (Q.F.W.)
  zwqust@qust.edu.cn (W.Z.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3659-9
  CLC：
- Received：12 January 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-02-10，
  
  Accepted：11 March 2026，
  
  Online First：09 June 2026，
  
  Published：15 August 2026
- Accepted：
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Xia, X.; Zhang, Z. P.; Wang, D. S.; Li, Y. H.; Sun, J. J.; He, J. J.; Wang, Q. F.; Zhao, W. Micro-sized silicon carbonitride prepared by radical polymerization as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2659–2669

Xin Xia, Zhen-Peng Zhang, De-Shuo Wang, et al. Micro-sized Silicon Carbonitride Prepared by Radical Polymerization as a High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(8): 2659-2669.
Xia, X.; Zhang, Z. P.; Wang, D. S.; Li, Y. H.; Sun, J. J.; He, J. J.; Wang, Q. F.; Zhao, W. Micro-sized silicon carbonitride prepared by radical polymerization as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2659–2669 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3659-9.

Xin Xia, Zhen-Peng Zhang, De-Shuo Wang, et al. Micro-sized Silicon Carbonitride Prepared by Radical Polymerization as a High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(8): 2659-2669. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3659-9.

摘要

Organopolysilazane oligomers undergo free radical polymerization to produce uniform polymer microspheres

which are then pyrolyzed at about 1000 °C in N

to form amorphous SiCNO ceramic microspheres with embedded free carbon domains. This unique structure enables the material to achieve high capacity

excellent long-term cycling stability

and robust structural integrity as a lithium-ion battery anode.

Abstract

To address the critical issue of volume expansion in silicon-based anode materials and enhance battery performance

a novel method for synthesizing microsized silicon carbonitride (SiCNO) ceramic particles was presented as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. SiCNO ceramic microspheres were prepared

via

high-temperature pyrolysis of organopolysilazane microspheres (OPSZ MPs)

which were synthesized

via

free radical polymerization of silazane oligomers initiated by azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The SiCNO microspheres

serve as the active materials in lithium-ion batteries anode

demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance with an initial discharge-specific capacity of 1663.3 mAh·g

–1

and 622.9 mAh·g

–1

after 400 cycles at 1 A·g

–1

. These microspheres exhibited superior structural stability during the lithiation and delithiation processes

with a volume expansion of 25.46% during cycling. The enhanced performance can be attributed to their regular spherical structures and larger specific surface area

which improve the ion/electron transport and stress distribution. This study highlights the potential of synthesizing and regulating the morphology of SiCNO particles to improve the performance of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

providing a balance between high electrochemical activity and structural stability.

关键词

Keywords

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