Constructing N-doping biomass-derived carbon with hierarchically porous architecture to boost fast reaction kinetics for high-performance lithium storage

Abstract

Active biomass-derived carbons are brought into focus on boosting high-performance lithium storage. However, their low electric conductivity and poor ion diffusion kinetics during the lithium storage reactions remain confusing topics. This study demonstrates a novel and effective strategy of dual system activation process to construct the nitrogen-doped biomass-derived carbon with hierarchically porous architecture (HNBC), which is composed of the three-dimensional porous networks connected by carbon nanorods and the flake-like edges constructed by carbon nanosheets. A large amount of nitrogen doping can improve the conductivity and facilitate the charge transfer during charging/discharging, while the hierarchically porous structure can decrease the diffusion path for lithium-ion transport, enabling fast diffusion and charge-transfer dynamics. The HNBC electrode displays a high lithium-ion storage capacity of above 1392 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and superior stability. Moreover, the assembled asymmetric lithium-ion capacitor exhibits excellent cycling stability and delivers a high power density of 225 W kg−1 with an energy density of 186.31 W h kg−1. This dual system activation strategy may inspire the reasonable design of new-generation progressive carbon-based electrodes for high-performance lithium storage devices.