Atomic Precision Engineered Silicon-Carbon Composites for High-Durability and Low-Swelling Lithium-Ion Batteries

The deployment of silicon anodes in high-energy lithium-ion batteries is restricted by substantial volume expansion during cycling. Herein, we report a scalable synthetic strategy for a silicon-confined porous carbon composite anode to mitigate this limitation. Through an industrial-scale process, we achieved the atomic-level confinement of silicon, chemically anchoring single atoms and nanoclusters (below 1.0 nm) within the microporous architecture of a robust carbon host. This engineered structure utilizes pre-reserved internal void space to accommodate lithiation-induced expansion, significantly mitigating macroscopic electrode swelling relative to conventional materials. When integrated into 2 Ah P-Si/C-Gr||NCM811 pouch cells, the resulting cells deliver a high capacity retention of 81.2% after 1000 cycles with only 11.5% cell swelling. Furthermore, industrial production analysis confirms high consistency and cost-competitiveness, establishing a viable pathway linking fundamental atomic-level materials design with commercial requirements (100 kg/batch) for high-performance silicon anodes. © 2026 Wiley-VCH GmbH.