Agar-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon as anode for construction of cost-effective lithium-ion batteries

Balancing cost and performance of porous carbon (PC) as anode for lithium-ion battery (LIBs) is the key to effectively promote commercial application. Herein, low-cost N-doped PC (NPC-Ts, T = 600, 750 and 900 & DEG;C) were facilely prepared in batches via one-pot pyrolysis of agar with different carbonization temperature. The NPC-750 with specific surface area of 2914 m 2 /g and N content of 2.84% exhibits an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 1019 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g after 100 cycles and 837 mAh/g at 1 A/g after 500 cycles. Remarkably, the resulting LIBs exhibit an ultrafast charge-discharge feature with a remarkable capacity of 281 mAh/g at 10 A/g and a superlong cycle life with a capacity retention of 87% after 50 0 0 cycles at 10 A/g. Coupling with LiFePO 4 cathode, the fabricated lithium-ion full cells possess high capacity, excellent rate and cycling performances (125 mAh/g at 100 mA/g, capacity retention of 95%, after 220 cycles), highlighting the practicability of this NPC-750 as the anode materials. & COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Automated summary

Balancing the cost and performance of porous carbon as an anode for lithium-ion batteries is crucial for commercial application. In this study, low-cost N-doped porous carbon was prepared through one-pot pyrolysis of agar at different carbonization temperatures. The NPC-750, with a specific surface area of 2914 m2/g and 2.84% nitrogen content, exhibited an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 1019 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g after 100 cycles. Coupled with LiFePO4 cathode, the fabricated lithium-ion full cells showed high capacity, excellent rate, and cycling performances.