Molten-Salt-Assisted Synthesis of Hierarchical Porous MnO@Biocarbon Composites as Promising Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors and Lithium-Ion Batteries

Biomass-derived carbon composites (e.g., metal oxide/biocarbon) have been used as promising electrode materials for energy storage devices owing to their natural abundance and simple preparation process. However, low loading content/inhomogeneous distribution of metal oxides and inefficient cracking of biocarbon (BC) are intractable obstacles that impede the efficient utilization of biomass. In this work, hierarchical porous MnO/BC composites were prepared by a facile molten-salt-assisted strategy based on the superior salt-water absorption ability of agaric. The addition of NaCl induces a liquid reaction medium by formation of a molten salt mixture at high temperature to effectively realize the activation and cracking of the bulk carbon, and it also acts as a recyclable sacrificial template to form mesopores and macropores in the as-prepared hierarchical porous MnO/BC composites. The highly porous and uniform BC framework effectively enhances ion diffusion and electron-transfer ability, serves as a protective layer to prevent fracturing and agglomeration of MnO, and thus enables superior rate performance and cycling stability of the MnO/BC composite for both supercapacitor electrodes (94 % capacity retention at 20 mA cm(-2) after 5000 cycles) and lithium-ion battery anodes (783 mA h g(-1) after 1000 cycles). Notably, considering the simple and low-cost preparation process, this work opens a promising avenue for the large-scale production of advanced metal oxide/BC hybrid electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage.