Enhancing Plateau Capacity of Binder-Free and Self-Supported Napkin-Based Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries Via a Pre-Oxidation Modulation Strategy

Abstract

The practical deployment of hard carbon (HC) anodes in sodium-ion batteries is fundamentally constrained by inadequate initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and limited plateau capacity. These challenges are addressed through precision preoxidation modulation and temperature-programmed carbonization of biomass-derived precursors to achieve high-reversibility sodium storage. The closed/ultramicroporous structure of HC enhances sodium-ion storage kinetics, and the optimized HC anode exhibits a remarkable reversible capacity of 395 mAh g⁻¹ at 30 mA g⁻¹, and a higher plateau capacity of 266 mAh g⁻¹ (compared with typically 150–200 mAh g⁻¹ in most reported systems). The anode material demonstrates outstanding rate capability (105.7 mAh g⁻¹ at 1000 mA g⁻¹), representing a doubling enhancement compared to materials without closed/ultramicropores structure. Further investigations prove a hybrid sodium storage mechanism, involving surface adsorption, interlayer intercalation, and pore-filling of sodium ions. This work established a versatile methodology for manipulating carbon nanostructures through rational modulation of oxygen-functional groups and carbonization temperature, providing new insights for advancing the development of HC with enhanced plateau capacity and exploring flexible anode materials.

Keywords

hard carbons / napkins / pre-oxidations / self-supporting / sodium-ion batteries

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2026 The Author(s). Energy & Environmental Materials published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Zhengzhou University.