Speaker
Description
Conventional graphite anodes face limitations in capacity and rate capability, motivating sustainable carbons with hierarchical porosity to shorten lithium-ion transport paths and stabilize interfaces[1,2]. Herein, biomass-derived porous carbons were prepared by hydrothermal pretreatment followed by high-temperature activation to regulate pore architecture for lithium-ion battery anodes. The samples ZPC, NZPC, and NZHPC exhibit specific surface areas of 1213/2242/2360 m²/g, total pore volumes of 0.48/0.93/1.08 cm³/g, and micropore fractions of 95.8/94.6/88.9%. Adjustment of the solution chemistry during hydrothermal pretreatment promotes the subsequent activation, thereby increasing the surface area and average pore size and introducing mesoporosity, while retaining a high density of micropores. The optimized NZHPC delivers a reversible capacity of 1624.5 mAh/g at 50 mA/g, and maintains 656.1 mAh/g after 800 cycles at 1 A/g as well as 154.3 mAh/g after 1000 cycles at 5 A/g. Rate and cycling data indicate lower polarization and more stable kinetics compared with ZPC and NZPC. The approach used in this study led to outstanding materials that largely surpass the capacity and cyclability observed in standard graphite anodes, which is attributed to the particular pore structure obtained through our methodology. However, to fully understand the behavior of these materials, in situ synchrotron SAXS/WAXS measurements will be conducted in the future to probe pore evolution and validate the transport mechanism. These planned experiments aim to provide direct evidence for a clear correlation between pore architecture and electrochemical performance and to support a practical route to high-performance biomass-derived carbon anodes through rational control of pore size distribution.
