Advanced Carbon-Based Materials for Batteries

A special issue of Batteries (ISSN 2313-0105). This special issue belongs to the section "Battery Materials and Interfaces: Anode, Cathode, Separators and Electrolytes or Others".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2023) | Viewed by 5924

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: advanced polymeric and carbonaceous materials for energy storage and conversion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There has been an ever-increasing and urgent demand for high-performance energy storage devices to power the wants and needs of modern society. Among various energy storage technologies, rechargeable batteries such as alkaline/multivalent metal-ion batteries and metal-air/sulfur batteries, have attracted worldwide attention, since they could potentially fulfill high-energy-density, high-efficiency, and low-emission requirements simultaneously. Benefiting from the unique merits of low cost, high electrical conductivity, and superior chemical stability, carbon materials play an important role in rechargeable batteries. On the one hand, carbon materials can be directly employed as electrode materials for energy storage via ionic intercalation and/or adsorption. On the other hand, carbon materials can be composited with other active materials, including metals and their compounds, elemental sulfur, metallic lithium/sodium/zinc, etc., for synergistical energy storage with enhanced performance. Moreover, carbon materials can also be used as conductive additives to improve the electron transport efficiency of electrodes. This Special Issue will focus on these advanced carbon-based materials that can promote the development of rechargeable batteries.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Graphitic carbons;
  • Soft carbons;
  • Hard carbons;
  • Porous carbons;
  • Carbon aerogels;
  • Polymer-derived carbons;
  • Biomass-derived carbons;
  • Carbon hybrids.

Dr. Shaohong Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • anode material
  • cathode material
  • conductive additive
  • sulfur host
  • lithium host
  • electrocatalyst
  • energy storage mechanism

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3969 KiB  
Article
A Freestanding Multifunctional Interlayer Based on Fe/Zn Single Atoms Implanted on a Carbon Nanofiber Membrane for High-Performance Li-S Batteries
by Mengdi Zhang, Shuoshuo Kong, Bei Chen and Mingbo Wu
Batteries 2024, 10(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries10010015 - 31 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1804
Abstract
By virtue of the high theoretical energy density and low cost, Lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries have drawn widespread attention. However, their electrochemical performances are seriously plagued by the shuttling of intermediate polysulfides and the slow reaction kinetics during practical implementation. Herein, we designed a [...] Read more.
By virtue of the high theoretical energy density and low cost, Lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries have drawn widespread attention. However, their electrochemical performances are seriously plagued by the shuttling of intermediate polysulfides and the slow reaction kinetics during practical implementation. Herein, we designed a freestanding flexible membrane composed of nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanofibers anchoring iron and zinc single atoms (FeZn-PCNF), to serve as the polysulfide barrier and the reaction promotor. The flexible porous networks formed by the interwoven carbon nanofibers not only offer fast channels for the transport of electrons/ions, but also guarantee the structural stability of the all-in-one multifunctional interlayer during cycling. Highly dispersed Fe and Zn atoms in the carbon scaffold synergistically immobilize sulfur species and expedite their reversible conversion. Therefore, employing FeZn-PCNF as the freestanding interlayer between the cathode and separator, the Li-S battery delivers a superior initial reversible discharge capacity of 1140 mA h g−1 at a current density of 0.5 C and retains a high capacity of 618 mA h g−1 after 600 cycles at a high current density of 1 C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Carbon-Based Materials for Batteries)
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11 pages, 3195 KiB  
Article
Green Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Carbon Derived from Coal Tar Pitch for Enhanced Lithium Storage
by Mengdi Zhang, Meng Qu, Wenhan Yuan, Jiawei Mu, Zhengqiu He and Mingbo Wu
Batteries 2023, 9(9), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9090473 - 19 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1331
Abstract
Coal tar pitch (CTP) is a high-quality raw material for producing functional carbon materials owing to its high carbon yield and high degree of condensation. The rational structure regulation of CTP-derived carbon materials is paramount for their special application. Herein, a green template [...] Read more.
Coal tar pitch (CTP) is a high-quality raw material for producing functional carbon materials owing to its high carbon yield and high degree of condensation. The rational structure regulation of CTP-derived carbon materials is paramount for their special application. Herein, a green template strategy is proposed to fabricate hierarchically porous carbon (HPC) and employ it as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries. It can be demonstrated that the mass ratio of the template (KHCO3) and carbon source (CTP) significantly influences the microstructure and electrochemical performances of HPC. HPC-3 synthesized by a mass ratio of 3:1 shows a coral-like lamellar nanostructure with high specific surface area, developed nanopores, and ample defects, enabling fast and high-flux lithium storage. Thus, the HPC-3 electrode achieves an excellent rate capacity of 219 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 and maintains a high discharge capacity of 660 mAh g−1 after 1400 cycles at 1 A g−1. This work takes a step towards the high-value-added and green utilization of CTP and offers a promising solution for the sustainable production of advanced carbon electrode materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Carbon-Based Materials for Batteries)
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11 pages, 2246 KiB  
Article
Two-Dimensional Molecular Brush-Based Ultrahigh Edge-Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanosheets for Ultrafast Potassium-Ion Storage
by Zongheng Cen, Youchen Tang, Junlong Huang, Yongqi Chen, Haozhen Yang, Dongtian Miao, Dingcai Wu and Shaohong Liu
Batteries 2023, 9(7), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9070363 - 07 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1107
Abstract
Heteroatom doping, especially nitrogen doping, has been regarded as an efficient strategy to break through the capacity limitation of carbonaceous anode materials in potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Constructing edge-nitrogen-rich carbon skeleton with highly exposed active sites and efficient charge transfer is critical for the [...] Read more.
Heteroatom doping, especially nitrogen doping, has been regarded as an efficient strategy to break through the capacity limitation of carbonaceous anode materials in potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Constructing edge-nitrogen-rich carbon skeleton with highly exposed active sites and efficient charge transfer is critical for the high performance of nitrogen-doped carbonaceous anode materials. Herein, a kind of ultrahigh edge-nitrogen (up to 16.2 at%) doped carbon nanosheets (ENCNS) has been developed by an efficient assembly of high-nitrogen-ratio melamine (MA) with polyacrylic acid grafted graphene oxide (GO-g-PAA) molecular brushes. The assembled PAA/MA structure facilitates the formation of an edge-nitrogen-rich carbon skeleton during heat treatment, while the highly conductive graphene backbone with a 2D nanomorphology enables shortened ion diffusion pathways and numerous exposed active surfaces. As a result, the ENCNS demonstrate excellent rate performance (up to 144 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1) and good cycle stability (136 and 100 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles at 5 and 10 A g−1, respectively). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Carbon-Based Materials for Batteries)
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12 pages, 2275 KiB  
Article
CO2 Pressure-Dependent Microstructure and Morphology of Carbon for Energy Storage: Unraveling the Role of CO2 in Green Synthesis of Carbon Materials
by Peng Li, Yun Chen, Chu Liang, Chengfu Zeng, Xiaoyu (Baohua) Zhang, Haichang Zhong, Wenxian Zhang, Xiaohua Zheng and Mingxia Gao
Batteries 2023, 9(2), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9020130 - 12 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1406
Abstract
Advanced carbon materials have played an important function in the field of energy conversion and storage. The green and low-carbon synthesis of elemental carbon with controllable morphology and microstructure is the main problem for carbon materials. Herein, we develop a green and low-carbon [...] Read more.
Advanced carbon materials have played an important function in the field of energy conversion and storage. The green and low-carbon synthesis of elemental carbon with controllable morphology and microstructure is the main problem for carbon materials. Herein, we develop a green and low-carbon method to synthesize porous carbon by reacting CO2 with LiAlH4 at low temperatures. The starting reaction temperatures are as low as 142, 121, and 104 °C for LiAlH4 reacting with 1, 30, and 60 bar CO2, respectively. For the elemental carbon, the porosity of elemental carbon gradually decreased, whereas its graphitization degree increased as the CO2 pressure increased from 1 bar to 60 bar. CO2 serves as one of the two reactants and the CO2 pressure can adjust the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the formation reaction for synthesizing elemental carbon. The mechanism for CO2 pressure-dependent microstructure and morphology of carbon is discussed on the basis of the formation reaction of elemental carbon and gas blowing effect of H2 and CO2. The elemental carbon with different morphology and microstructure exhibits distinct electrochemical lithium storage performance including reversible capacity, rate capability, cycling stability, and Coulombic efficiency, owing to their different lithium storage mechanism. The elemental carbon synthesized at 30 bar CO2 delivers the highest reversible capacity of 506 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles even at 1.0 A g−1. Advanced energy storage technology based on the green and low-carbon synthesis of carbon materials is a requisite for providing a stable and sustainable energy supply to meet the ever-growing demand for energy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Carbon-Based Materials for Batteries)
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