Fig. 1: Mechanism study of liquid electrolyte and quasi-solid electrolytes behavior in silicon-based electrodes.

a Schematic depicting the failure mechanisms of silicon electrodes in LE, QSE, and Upy-QSE. b Schematic depicting the Li+ transportation in QSE and Upy-QSE. c Nanoindentation tests on QSE and Upy-QSE. d 180° peeling tests on silicon electrode sheets adhered by QSE and Upy-QSE. In this test, the electrolyte precursor was injected between two identical silicon electrode pieces. After fully polymerized, the two silicon electrode sheets were peeled apart by a tensile monitor. e Binding energies between silicon surface and QSE, Upy-QSE respectively. f FT-IR spectra of pristine silicon particles, QSE-coated silicon particles and Upy-QSE coated silicon particles.