A Universal Method for Regulating Carbon Microcrystalline Structure for High-Capacity Sodium Storage: Binding Energy...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) offer abundant resources and safety advantages but require high-performance carbon anodes for industrialization.
• Existing carbon anodes lack sufficient specific capacities, hindering the widespread adoption of SIB technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a metal-assisted method for regulating the microcrystalline structure of carbon materials.
• To achieve high-capacity sodium storage in carbon anodes for SIBs.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing metal-assisted microcrystalline structure regulation of carbon materials.
• Employing in situ thermal-treatment X-ray diffraction and multiple spectroscopies to investigate the regulation mechanism.
• Analyzing carbon precursors, specifically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-type pitch, for high carbon yield.

Main Results:

• The developed carbon materials achieved high capacities of up to 390 mAh g⁻¹, outperforming many reported carbon anodes for SIBs.
• The mechanism involves constructing steric hindrance (C-O-C bonds) to inhibit aromatic polycondensation.
• Binding energy was identified as a key descriptor for regulating carbon structure and enhancing sodium storage.

Conclusions:

• Metal-assisted structural regulation provides a universal method for fabricating high-performance carbon anodes for SIBs.
• This approach facilitates the controlled design of carbon materials for energy storage and conversion applications.
• The findings pave the way for advancing SIB technology through optimized anode materials.