Date seed-derived porous carbon for advanced Li–Se battery applications

This study explores the viability of date seeds as an environmentally sustainable and cost-efficient precursor for the fabrication of selenium-based cathodes in lithium-selenium (Li–Se) batteries. The date seeds were subjected to carbonization and activation processes, achieving a carbon to potassium hydroxide (KOH) ratio of 1:2, which transformed them into a porous carbon material, hereinafter referred to as activated date seeds (DS). This treatment resulted in a material with a significant Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 46.02 m² g⁻¹ and an average pore size of 2.8 nm. Utilizing a straightforward melt-diffusion technique, selenium was infused into the DS matrix, creating the DS@Se composite. This composite exhibited an outstanding initial discharge capacity of 1000 mAh g⁻¹ at a 1 C rate (where 1C = 675 mA g⁻¹) in Li–Se batteries. Impressively, after 400 cycles, the DS@Se composite maintained a capacity retention of 283.17 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 C. These findings highlight the potential of processed date seeds (DS) as an effective and sustainable substrate for selenium-based cathodes, pointing towards new avenues for the development of high-performance Li–Se batteries.