Hierarchical Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Microspheres as Anode for High Performance Sodium Ion Batteries

Synergetic Strategy for the Fabrication of Self-Standing Distorted Carbon Nanofibers with Heteroatom Doping for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Currently, the limited availability of lithium sources is escalating the cost of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Considering the fluctuating economics of LIBs, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have now drawn attention because sodium is an earth-abundant, low-cost element that exhibits similar chemistry to that of LIBs. Despite developments in different anode materials, there still remain several challenges in SIBs, including lighter cell design for SIBs. The presented work designs a facile strategy to prepare nitrogen-doped free-standing pseudo-graphitic nanofibers via electrospinning. A structural and morphological study implies highly disordered graphitic structured nanofibers having diameters of ∼120-170 nm, with a smooth surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that nitrogen was successfully doped in carbon nanofibers (CNFs). When served as an anode material for SIBs, the resultant material exhibits excellent sodium-ion storage properties in terms of long-term cycling stability and high rate capability. Notably, a binder-free self-standing CNF without a current collector was used as an anode for SIBs that delivered capacities of 210 and 87 mA h g-1 at 20 and 1600 mA g-1, respectively, retaining a capacity of 177 mA h g-1 when retained at 20 mA g-1. The as-synthesized CNFs demonstrate a long cycle life with a relatively high Columbic efficiency of 98.6% for the 900th cycle, with a stable and excellent rate capacity. The sodium storage mechanisms of the CNFs were examined with various nitrogen concentrations and carbonization temperatures. Furthermore, the diffusion coefficients of the sodium ions based on the electrochemical impedance spectra measurement have been calculated in the range of 10-15-10-12 cm2 s-1, revealing excellent diffusion mobility for Na atoms in the CNFs. This study demonstrates that optimum nitrogen doping and carbonization temperature demonstrated a lower Warburg coefficient and a higher Na-ion diffusion coefficient leads to enhanced stable electrochemical performance. Thus, our study shows that the nitrogen-doped CNFs will have potential for SIBs.

Sb2O3 nanoparticles anchored on N-doped graphene nanoribbons as improved anode for sodium-ion batteries

A hybrid nanocomposite of Sb2O3 nanoparticles anchored on N-doped graphene nanoribbons is used as anode in SIBs. These hybrid electrodes demonstrate a high charge transfer and improved microstructure, facilitating the Na+ diffusion in the electrode.

Constructing Hierarchical Porous Carbons With Interconnected Micro-mesopores for Enhanced CO2 Adsorption

A high cost-performance carbon dioxide sorbent based on hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) was easily prepared by carbonization of raw sugar using commercially available nano-CaCO3 as a double-acting template. The effects of the initial composition and carbonization temperature on the micro-mesoporous structure and adsorption performance were examined. Also, the importance of post-activation behavior in the development of micropores and synthesis route for the formation of the interconnected micro-mesoporous structure were investigated. The results revealed excellent carbon dioxide uptake reaching up 2.84 mmol/g (25oC, 1 bar), with micropore surface area of 786 m2/g, micropore volume of 0.320 cm3/g and mesopore volume of 0.233 cm3/g. We found that high carbon dioxide uptake was ascribed to the developed micropores and interconnected micro-mesoporous structure. As an expectation, the optimized HPCs offers a promising new support for the high selective capture of carbon dioxide in the future.