Biomass-Derived Porous Carbon Materials for Li-Ion Battery

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Developing sustainable materials for energy storage is crucial.
• Lignin, a biomass byproduct, offers a renewable precursor for advanced materials.
• Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is a common precursor for carbon fibers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize biomass-based carbon nanofibers (CNF) using lignin and PAN.
• To investigate the effect of carbonization temperature on CNF properties and performance.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance of CNFs for energy storage.

Main Methods:

• Electrospinning of lignin and PAN blend.
• Stabilization at 220°C and carbonization at 800°C, 900°C, and 1000°C.
• Characterization using SEM, EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and BET analysis.
• Electrochemical testing at various current densities.

Main Results:

• CNF carbonized at 800°C demonstrated superior stability and high capacitance.
• CNF 800 exhibited an initial capacity of 798 mAh/g and 69.5% Coulomb efficiency at 100 mA/g.
• CNFs showed stable cycling performance over 500 cycles at 500 mA/g, with CNF 800 maintaining higher capacities.

Conclusions:

• Carbonization temperature significantly impacts the electrochemical performance of lignin-based CNFs.
• CNFs derived from biomass offer a promising sustainable alternative for high-performance energy storage devices.
• The 800°C carbonized CNF presents optimal characteristics for practical applications.