Abstract
The conversion of allergic pollen grains into carbon microstructures was carried out through a facile, one-step, solid-state pyrolysis process in an inert atmosphere. The as-prepared carbonaceous particles were further air activated at 300 °C and then evaluated as lithium ion battery anodes at room (25 °C) and elevated (50 °C) temperatures. The distinct morphologies of bee pollens and cattail pollens are resembled on the final architecture of produced carbons. Scanning Electron Microscopy images shows that activated bee pollen carbon (ABP) is comprised of spiky, brain-like, and tiny spheres; while activated cattail pollen carbon (ACP) resembles deflated spheres. Structural analysis through X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirmed their amorphous nature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of ABP and ACP confirmed that both samples contain high levels of oxygen and small amount of nitrogen contents. At C/10 rate, ACP electrode delivered high specific lithium storage reversible capacities (590 mAh/g at 50 °C and 382 mAh/g at 25 °C) and also exhibited excellent high rate capabilities. Through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies, improved performance of ACP is attributed to its lower charge transfer resistance than ABP. Current studies demonstrate that morphologically distinct renewable pollens could produce carbon architectures for anode applications in energy storage devices.
Highlights
The conversion of allergic pollen grains into carbon microstructures was carried out through a facile, one-step, solid-state pyrolysis process in an inert atmosphere
The cattail pollens were obtained from locally grown cattail plants, while the bee pollens were initally collected from flowers by foraging bees
activated cattail pollen carbon (ACP) carbon resembles the shape of collapsed spheres with uniform diameter of ~20 μ m (Fig. 2b)
Summary
The colored scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of ACP and ABP reveal the distinct morphological difference of the two pollen derived carbons. The rich morphologies of ABP carbon can be attributed to the diverse pollen sources visited by the foraging bees. It is important to note that change of seasons and sourcing locations are expected to significantly impact the composition of bee pollens due to the change in available pollen species[24]. Such variation in bee pollen derived carbon microstrutures could pose considerable challenges to battery anode quality control; controllable carbon mictrostructures with monodispersity could be attained via careful selection of pollen sources.
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