Carbon For Sodium-ion Batteries Research Articles

Coal-based hard carbon anode for high-performance sodium ion batteries via coal-based graphene oxide as a multi-functional binder

Coal-based hard carbon for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) was successfully prepared using Shenfu bituminous coal (SFC) by one-step pyrolysis method. In the present work, we reported a novel method to fabricate carbon electrodes for SIBs from coal-based hard carbon with coal-based graphene oxide (CGO) as a multi-functional conductive binder to realize dual functional utilization of coal. As compared to traditional binder (CMC), electrodes with the CGO binder exhibits significantly increased reversible capacity and rate capability. This work provides a facile method for coal-based carbon materials used in SIBs.

Conversion of aliphatic structure-rich coal maceral into high-capacity hard carbons for sodium-ion batteries

Pre-oxidation is an effective strategy for preparing high-capacity coal-derived hard carbons. However, the complex molecular structure of coal results in the uncontrollability of oxidation and structural evolution, which hinders the design of high-performance hard carbons. Herein, we are separating macerals to investigate the effects of molecular structural features of coal macerals on their oxidative reactivity, as well as the constitutive relationship between the cross-linked structures of the macerals and the structures of coal-derived hard carbons. According to molecular mechanics and Monte Carlo method simulations, the oxygen adsorption behavior of different coal molecules during increasing temperatures is revealed. The macerals with more aliphatic structures exhibit higher oxidative reactivity and have more adsorbed oxygen in the molecular model, contributing to a more cross-linked structure. The subsequent carbonization process limits the rearrangement of the carbon layers, resulting in a more disordered carbon layer structure and the formation of more ultra-micropores. Experimental results reveal that vitrinite-rich coal-derived hard carbons exhibit a capacity of 330.2 mAh/g higher than inertinite-rich coal-derived hard carbons capacity of 260 mAh/g. This work throws a light on the preparation of high-capacity coal-derived hard carbons, and provides theoretical guidance for other thermochemical research systems.

Pretreatment Process Before Heat Pyrolysis of Plant‐based Precursors Paving Way for Fabricating High‐Performance Hard Carbon for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

AbstractThe increasing demand for sodium‐ion batteries has risen due to sodium resources that are inexpensive and abundant compared with its counterpart of lithium‐ion batteries. Development of anode materials with high performance is central issue for sodium‐ion batteries. Plant‐based hard carbon material is a promising anode material for sodium ion batteries due to its green preparation process, favorable ions transport channel, and special porous structure. Previous studies have not systematically correlated the material's inherent structure limitation with its electrochemical properties, resulting in a complex classification and a lack selection of pretreatment methods. In this review, the intrinsic limitations in the structure of plant‐based precursors are divided into four parts, including impure components, single chemical structure, uncontrollable crystalline texture, and irregular porous structure. The previous pretreatment methods are reclassified, including purification component aiming at plant‐based precursors, optimized structure, and precabornized process aiming at intermediate products. Furthermore, the pretreatment strategies are discussed according to the preferred structures of plant‐based hard carbon and the relationship between structure and performance is systematically expounded. This review provides deep understanding of the mechanism of pretreatment and a guide for selecting appropriate pretreatment strategies to optimize the structure of plant‐based hard carbon for sodium ion batteries.

Nitrogen and Sulfur Co-doped Mesoporous Carbon for Sodium Ion Batteries

Enhanced sodium ion storage capacity of carbon anodes can be realized by heteroatom doping. Designing doped carbons with superior rate performance, high initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), and exce...

Chemical-enzymatic fractionation to unlock the potential of biomass-derived carbon materials for sodium ion batteries

Plant biomass, the most abundant and sustainable carbon source, offers a rich chemical space to design hard carbons for sodium ion batteries.

Biomass-derived nanostructured porous carbons for sodium ion batteries: a review

ABSTRACTSodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been considered one of the optimal the large scale and low cost energy storage systems for smart grid system owing to the abundant sodium resource. Among various anode materials, the biomass-derived nanostructured porous carbons (BDNPCs) show some promising in SIBs due to obvious advantages of abundant resource, low cost, nontoxicity and high safety. In this review, the recent progress of the sodium storage performance of the biomass derived nanostructured porous carbons is summarized. Moreover, the dependent of SIB performances on the porous structures from BDNPCs is discussed. It is expected that this review may provide an in-depth understanding and guide rational design of high-performance anode materials by using low-cost, sustainable and natural biomass precursors.

Recent Progress in Design of Biomass-Derived Hard Carbons for Sodium Ion Batteries

Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted lots of attention over last few years due to the abundance and wide availability of sodium resources, making SIBs the most cost-effective alternative to the currently used lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Many efforts are underway to find effective anodes for SIBs since the commercial anode for LIBs, graphite, has shown very limited capacity for SIBs. Among many different types of carbons, hard carbons—especially these derived from biomass—hold a great deal of promise for SIB technology thanks to their constantly improving performance and low cost. The main scope of this mini-review is to present current progress in preparation of negative electrodes from biomass including aspects related to precursor types used and their impact on the final carbon characteristics (structure, texture and composition). Another aspect discussed is how certain macro- and microstructure characteristics of the materials translate to their performance as anode for Na-ion batteries. In the last part, current understanding of factors governing sodium insertion into hard carbons is summarized, specifically those that could help solve existing performance bottlenecks such as irreversible capacity, initial low Coulombic efficiency and poor rate performance.