Petroleum pitch derived hard carbon via NaCl-template as anode materials with high rate performance for sodium ion battery

Abstract

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have garnered significant interest in energy storage due to their similar working mechanism to lithium ion batteries and abundant reserves of sodium resource. Exploring facile synthesis of a carbon-based anode materials with capable electrochemical performance is key to promoting the practical application of SIBs. In this work, a combination of petroleum pitch and recyclable sodium chloride is selected as the carbon source and template to obtain hard carbon (HC) anode for SIBs. Carbonization times and temperatures are optimized by assessing the sodium ion storage behavior of different HC materials. The optimized HC exhibits a remarkable capacity of over 430 mAh·g^–1 after undergoing full activation through 500 cycles at a density of current of 0.1 A·g^–1. Furthermore, it demonstrates an initial discharge capacity of 276 mAh·g^–1 at a density of current of 0.5 A·g^–1. Meanwhile, the optimized HC shows a good capacity retention (170 mAh·g^–1 after 750 cycles) and a remarkable rate ability (166 mAh·g^–1 at 2 A·g^–1). The enhanced capacity is attributed to the suitable degree of graphitization and surface area, which improve the sodium ion transport and storage.

Key words： petroleum pitch; hard carbon; sodium-ion batteries; high rate; recyclable template

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Heilongjiang Province Key R&D Program (Grant No. GA22A014).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-024-2430-4 and is accessible for authorized users.

References

1 Li T , Chen C J , Brozena A H , Zhu J Y , Xu L X , Driemeier C , Dai J Q , Rojas O J , Isogai A . . Developing fibrillated cellulose as a sustainable technological material. Nature, 2021, 590(7844): 47–56

2 Sun Z F , Pan J H , Chen W W , Chen H Y , Zhou S H , Wu X Y , Wang Y S , Kim K , Li J , Liu H D . . Electrochemical processes and reactions in rechargeable battery materials revealed via in situ transmission electron microscopy. Advanced Energy Materials, 2024, 14(2): 2303165

3 Fu R N , Pan J H , Wang M Y , Min H H , Dong H H , Cai R , Sun Z F , Xiong Y W , Cui F H , Lei S Y . . In situ atomic-scale deciphering of multiple dynamic phase transformations and reversible sodium storage in ternary metal sulfide anode. ACS Nano, 2023, 17(13): 12483–12498

4 Ma M Z , Zhang S P , Wang L F , Yao Y , Shao R W , Shen L , Yu L , Dai J Y , Jiang Y , Cheng X L . . Harnessing the volume expansion of MoS₃ anode by structure engineering to achieve high performance beyond lithium-based rechargeable batteries. Advanced Materials, 2021, 33(45): 2106232

5 Wang M , Wang Q C , Ding X Y , Wang Y S , Xin Y H , Singh P , Wu F , Gao H C . The prospect and challenges of sodium-ion batteries for low-temperature conditions. Interdisciplinary Materials, 2022, 1(3): 373–395

6 Ma Y , Shang R X , Liu Y H , Lake R , Ozkan M , Ozkan C S . Enabling fast-charging capability for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 2023, 559: 232647

7 Nayak P K , Yang L T , Brehm W , Adelhelm P . From lithium-ion to sodium-ion batteries: advantages, challenges, and surprises. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2018, 57(1): 102–120

8 Zhang L P , Li X L , Yang M R , Chen W H . High-safety separators for lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries: advances and perspective. Energy Storage Materials, 2021, 41: 522–545

9 AbrahamK M. How comparable are sodium-ion batteries to lithium-ion counterparts? ACS Energy Letters, 2020, 5(11): 3544–3547

10 Tian Z H , Zhang Y , Zhu J X , Li Q Y , Liu T X , Antonietti M . A reanalysis of the diverse sodium species in carbon anodes for sodium ion batteries: a thermodynamic view. Advanced Energy Materials, 2021, 11(47): 2102489

11 Yao H , Li H Y , Ke B Y , Chu S Y , Guo S H , Zhou H S . Recent progress on honeycomb layered oxides as a durable cathode material for sodium-ion batteries. Small Methods, 2023, 7(6): 2201555

12 Yadav K , Ray N . Aluminene as a low-cost anode material for Li- and Na-ion batteries. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2023, 15(31): 37337–37343

13 Qiao S Y , Zhou Q W , Ma M , Liu H K , Dou S X , Chong S K . Advanced anode materials for rechargeable sodium-ion batteries. ACS Nano, 2023, 17(12): 11220–11252

14 Thangaraj B , Solomon P R , Hassan J . Nanocarbon in sodium-ion batteries—a review. Part 1: Zero-dimensional carbon dots. ChemBioEng Reviews, 2023, 10(5): 628–646

15 Ding J X , Zhou X Z , Gao J , Lei Z Q . Activating graphite with defects and oxygenic functional groups to boost sodium-ion storage. Nanoscale, 2023, 15(33): 13760–13769

16 Dai C L , Sun G Q , Hu L Y , Xiao Y K , Zhang Z P , Qu L T . Recent progress in graphene-based electrodes for flexible batteries. InfoMat, 2020, 2(3): 509–526

17 Li R , Yang B R , Hu A J , Zhou B , Liu M J , Yang L , Yan Z F , Fan Y N , Pan Y , Chen J H , Li T , Li K , Liu J , Long J . Heteroatom screening and microcrystal regulation of coal-derived hard carbon promises high-performance sodium-ion batteries. Carbon, 2023, 215: 118489

18 Wei H Y , Cheng H K , Yao N , Li G , Du Z Q , Luo R X , Zheng Z . Invasive alien plant biomass-derived hard carbon anode for sodium-ion batteries. Chemosphere, 2023, 343: 140220

19 Tai C W , Jao W Y , Tseng L , Wang P , Tu A P , Hu C C . Lithium-ion storage mechanism in closed pore-rich hard carbon with ultrahigh extra plateau capacity. Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2023, 11(36): 19669–19684

20 Liu R F , Li Y L , Wang C L , Xiao N , He L , Guo H Y , Wan P , Zhou Y , Qiu J S . Enhanced electrochemical performances of coal liquefaction residue derived hard carbon coated by graphene as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Fuel Processing Technology, 2018, 178: 35–40

21 Saha B , Vedachalam S , Paul A K , Dalai A K , Saxena S , Roberts W L , Dryer F L . Microwave-assisted solvent deasphalting of heavy fuel oil and process parameters optimization. Fuel, 2023, 351: 128818

22 Saad S , Zeraati A S , Roy S , Shahriar Rahman Saadi M A , Radović J R , Rajeev A , Miller K A , Bhattacharyya S , Larter S R , Natale G , Sundararaj U , Ajayan P M , Rahman M M , Kibria M G . Transformation of petroleum asphaltenes to carbon fibers. Carbon, 2022, 190: 92–103

23 Tazikeh S , Sayyad Amin J , Zendehboudi S , Dejam M , Chatzis I . Bi-fractal and bi-Gaussian theories to evaluate impact of polythiophene-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles on asphaltene precipitation and surface topography. Fuel, 2020, 272: 117535

24 Kamkar M , Natale G . A review on novel applications of asphaltenes: a valuable waste. Fuel, 2021, 285: 119272

25 Hung A M , Fini E H . Absorption spectroscopy to determine the extent and mechanisms of aging in bitumen and asphaltenes. Fuel, 2019, 242: 408–415

26 Kim J W , Kim D W , Lee S Y , Park S J . A study on pre-oxidation of petroleum pitch-based activated carbons for electric double-layer capacitors. Molecules, 2022, 27(10): 3241

27 Scherschel A , Harrell T , Sushchenko A , Li X D . Exploration of fibers produced from petroleum based-mesophase pitch and pet blends for carbon fiber production. Journal of Polymer Research, 2023, 30(9): 351

28 Ma W , Li W L , Ran S , Yang G F , Wang T M . A superior microwave absorption material of porous carbon nanosheet/Fe₃O₄ composites from petroleum asphalt as carbon source. Journal of Materials Science, 2023, 58(33): 13279–13294

29 Yang W , Deng B J , Hou L Q , Wang T H , Tian J B , Wang S , Li R , Yang F , Li Y F . Sulfur-fixation strategy toward controllable synthesis of molybdenum-based/carbon nanosheets derived from petroleum asphalt. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 380: 122552

30 Ning H , Wang X S , Wang W H , Mao Q H , Yang Z X , Zhao Q S , Song Y , Wu M B . Cubic Cu₂O on nitrogen-doped carbon shells for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₂H₄. Carbon, 2019, 146: 218–223

31 Lu Y X , Zhao C L , Qi X G , Qi Y R , Li H , Huang X J , Chen L Q , Hu Y S . Pre-oxidation-tuned microstructures of carbon anodes derived from pitch for enhancing Na storage performance. Advanced Energy Materials, 2018, 8(27): 1800108

32 Cao B , Liu H , Xu B , Lei Y F , Chen X H , Song H H . Mesoporous soft carbon as an anode material for sodium ion batteries with superior rate and cycling performance. Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2016, 4(17): 6472–6478

33 Kamiyama A , Kubota K , Igarashi D , Youn Y , Tateyama Y , Ando H , Gotoh K , Komaba S . MgO-template synthesis of extremely high capacity hard carbon for Na-ion battery. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2021, 60(10): 5114–5120

34 Li Y Q , Lu Y X , Meng Q S , Jensen A C S , Zhang Q Q , Zhang Q H , Tong Y X , Qi Y , Gu L , Titirici M M . . Regulating pore structure of hierarchical porous waste cork-derived hard carbon anode for enhanced Na storage performance. Advanced Energy Materials, 2019, 9(48): 1902852

35 Üstün B , Aydın H , Koç S N , Uluslu A , Kurtan Ü . Electrospun polyethylenimine (PEI)-derived nitrogen enriched carbon nanofiber for supercapacitors with artificial neural network modeling. Journal of Energy Storage, 2023, 73: 108970

36 Wang J F , Yuan Y F , Lin Z C , Lin J J , Li S B , Huang Y Z , Guo S Y , Yan W W . Boosting lithium storage performance of Co-Sn double hydroxide nanocubes in-situ grown in mesoporous hollow carbon nanospheres. Electrochimica Acta, 2023, 465: 142971

37 Tang Z , Zhang R , Wang H Y , Zhou S Y , Pan Z Y , Huang Y C , Sun D , Tang Y G , Ji X B , Amine K , Shao M . Revealing the closed pore formation of waste wood-derived hard carbon for advanced sodium-ion battery. Nature Communications, 2023, 14(1): 6024

38 Long B J , Zhao R , Zhang J , Wang L , Chen X Q , Du Y X , Yuan G M , Dong Z J , Li X K . Stabilization residual oxygen reduces sulfur activity in hard carbon anode for sodium-ion batteries. Journal of Materials Science, 2022, 57(37): 17711–17721

39 Li W B , Guo X N , Song K M , Chen J C , Zhang J Y , Tang G C , Liu C T , Chen W H , Shen C Y . Binder-induced ultrathin SEI for defect-passivated hard carbon enables highly reversible sodium-ion storage. Advanced Energy Materials, 2023, 13(22): 2300648

40 Ma L A , Buckel A , Hofmann A , Nyholm L , Younesi R . Fundamental understanding and quantification of capacity losses involving the negative electrode in sodium-ion batteries. Advancement of Science, 2023, 20: 2306771

41 Glatthaar C , Wang M , Wagner L Q , Breckwoldt F , Guo Z Y , Zheng K T , Kriechbaum M , Amenitsch H , Titirici M M , Smarsly B M . Lignin-derived mesoporous carbon for sodium-ion batteries: block copolymer soft templating and carbon microstructure analysis. Chemistry of Materials, 2023, 35(24): 10416–10433

42 Chen H , Sun N , Wang Y X , Soomro R A , Xu B . One stone two birds: pitch assisted microcrystalline regulation and defect engineering in coal-based carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries. Energy Storage Materials, 2023, 56: 532–541

43 Xie F , Xu Z , Jensen A C S , Au H , Lu Y X , Araullo-Peters V , Drew A J , Hu Y S , Titirici M M . Hard-soft carbon composite anodes with synergistic sodium storage performance. Advanced Functional Materials, 2019, 29(24): 1901072

44 Wang M H , Ji S , Wang H , Linkov V , Wang X Y , Wang R F . Electrocatalytic performance of Ni-promoted Co nanoclusters supported by N-doped carbon foams for rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 2023, 571: 233069

45 Zhang P , Shu Y R , Wang Y , Ye J H , Yang L . Simple and efficient synthesis methods for fabricating anode materials of sodium-ion batteries and their sodium-ion storage mechanism study. Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2023, 11(6): 2920–2932

46 Zhang Z H , Huang G X , Qu X X , Liu Y H , Liu Z Y , Jia J B , Xing B L , Zhang C X . An effective strategy to prepare non-graphitic carbon with increased pseudo-graphitic content for sodium-ion battery anode with enhanced plateau capacity. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023, 477: 147188

47 Siebert A , Dou X W , Garcia-Diez R , Buchholz D , Félix R , Handick E , Wilks R G , Passerini S , Bär M . Solid electrolyte interphase formation on anatase TiO₂ nanoparticle-based electrodes for sodium-ion batteries. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2024, 7(1): 125–132

48 Liang Y Z , Song N , Zhang M Z , An X G , Song K P , Chen W H , Feng J K , Xiong S L , Xi B J . Robust interfacial chemistry induced by B-doping enables rapid, stable sodium storage. Advanced Energy Materials, 2023, 13(47): 2302825

49 Han B , Zou Y C , Zhang Z , Yang X M , Shi X B , Meng H , Wang H , Xu K , Deng Y H , Gu M . Probing the Na metal solid electrolyte interphase via cryo-transmission electron microscopy. Nature Communications, 2021, 12(1): 3066