Regulating the microcrystalline structure of anthracite via thermal treatment strategies for enhanced Sodium-Ion storage performance
摘要
Sodium ions and lithium ions belong to the same main group, share similar chemical properties, and are low-cost, making sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) a promising supplement to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Among the various anode materials for sodium-ion batteries, anthracite has attracted much attention due to its low price and carbon content exceeding 90%. Although significant progress has been made in the research of hard carbon derived from anthracite-based carbon materials, the reversible capacity and initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of anthracite-based soft carbon are still not satisfactory. In this study, anthracite is used as a raw material, and the interlayer spacing is regulated through thermal treatment. This results in a relatively high capacity of 304.4 mAh g-1 and an initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 89.3%. Low-cost anthracite coal, low-cost processes, and high initial Coulombic efficiency—these outstanding performance characteristics meet the requirements of practical applications and lay the foundation for the large-scale industrial production of low-cost, high-performance sodium-ion batteries for energy storage.