Laser Irradiation of a Bio-Waste Derived Carbon Unlocks Performance Enhancement in Secondary Lithium Batteries.

Mariangela Curcio,Roberto Teghil,Angela De Bonis,Lorenzo Caripoti,Sergio Brutti

doi:10.3390/nano11123183

Abstract

Pyrolyzed carbons from bio-waste sources are renewable nanomaterials for sustainable negative electrodes in Li- and Na-ion batteries. Here, carbon derived from a hazelnut shell has been obtained by hydrothermal processing of the bio-waste followed by thermal treatments and laser irradiation in liquid. A non-focused nanosecond pulsed laser source has been used to irradiate pyrolyzed carbon particles suspended in acetonitrile to modify the surface and morphology. Morphological, structural, and compositional changes have been investigated by microscopy, spectroscopy, and diffraction to compare the materials properties after thermal treatments as well as before and after the irradiation. Laser irradiation in acetonitrile induces remarkable alteration in the nanomorphology, increase in the surface area and nitrogen enrichment of the carbon surfaces. These materials alterations are beneficial for the electrochemical performance in lithium half cells as proved by galvanostatic cycling at room temperature.

Highlights

To tackle the simultaneous challenge of the massive need of natural resources for industrial transformations and the enormous accumulation of solid waste from human activities, a transition from a linear to a circular economy is inevitable
Graphitic carbons have a limited theoretical capacity of 372 mAhg−1 and an even smaller practical capacity, i.e.,
In this study we demonstrate the beneficial effect of the post-pyrolysis irradiation with a pulsed laser of a hard carbon derived from hazelnut shells

Summary

Introduction

To tackle the simultaneous challenge of the massive need of natural resources for industrial transformations and the enormous accumulation of solid waste from human activities, a transition from a linear to a circular economy is inevitable. In this direction, innovative transformative processes designed to reuse waste can save nonrenewable resources and pave the way for a sustainable global economy [1,2]. Conventional negative electrodes are based on graphite or nanographitic carbons which are able to give highly reversible Li intercalation/deintercalation in batteries. Graphitic carbons have a limited theoretical capacity of 372 mAhg−1 and an even smaller practical capacity, i.e.,

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