Solanaceous Crops-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Biomass Carbon Material as Anode for Lithium-Ion Battery

Biomass resources are excellent candidates for carbon electrode materials due to their abundance, renewability, and biodegradability. Herein, the solanaceous crop Tobacco Straw, a rich agricultural by-product, was utilized to prepare biomass-derived carbon material (TsC) and applied as an anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Doping or composite formation is considered to enhance the electrochemical performance. Doping extra nitrogen (N) atoms into the TsC (denoted as TsNC) demonstrated exceptional reversible specific capacity (475.9 mA h g^-1 at the current density of 60 mA g^-1 after 500 cycles) and remarkable long-term cycling stability (142.9 mA h g^-1 even at a high current density of 1.5 A g^-1 after 1000 cycles, much larger than that of TsC), attributed to the increased lithium-ion (Li-ion) adsorption sites including graphitic-N, pyrrolic-N, and pyridinic-N. Furthermore, kinetic analysis revealed that a prominent predominant surface capacitive-controlled behavior was responsible for the superior rate performance of TsNC, which could facilitate rapid charging and discharging at high rates. This work offers valuable insights into the application and modification of nitrogen-doped biomass-derived carbons with outstanding electrochemical properties for LIBs. The strategy also sheds light on enabling waste recycling and generating economic benefits.