Nanostructured carbon and silicon are promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their abundant active sites and enhanced ion/electron transport. Although hard-templating has been widely used to tailor pore structures of porous carbon, precise control over material morphology and dimensionality, particularly for low-dimensional 1D and 2D nanostructures, remains challenging. Notably, natural clay minerals possess diverse intrinsic nanoarchitectures (e.g., tubular, fibrous, layered structures, etc.), making them low-cost hard templates. Besides, their excellent thermal stability, strong adsorption capacity for organic matter, and high silicon content are appealing properties in template-assisted construction of nanostructured carbon and silicon. Leveraging these advantages, we have successfully synthesized various carbon/silicon nanomaterials, including 1D nanorods using halloysite and 2D nanosheets using vermiculite. These materials exhibit promising electrochemical performance as LIB anodes. This strategy provides a cost-effective approach to nanomaterial synthesis by exploiting the intrinsic structural and chemical advantages of natural resources.

Clay minerals,Nanomaterials,Anode,Lithium ion battery