Crop-derived polysaccharides as binders for high-capacity silicon/graphite-based electrodes in lithium-ion batteries.

Rice to power: Amylopectin is a major component of agricultural products such as corn, potato, and rice. Silicon-graphite electrodes are prepared by using slurries of these polysaccharides as binders. Compared to the conventionally used binder PVdF, they exhibit drastically improved electrode performance in Li cells. The improved performance is coupled to the degree of branching.