Low temperature graphitic carbon from cellulose for li-ion batteries Emily Hayward 1 , Luke Sweeney 1 , Brian Pauw 2 , Glen J Smales 2 , Zoe Schnepp 2 1 University of Birmingham, UK, 2 Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin, Germany Graphite has been used as an anode in lithium ion batteries (LiBs) since their commercialisation in the early 1990s due to its good electronic and ionic conduction, high gravimetric and volumetric capacities. However, in 2020 it was labelled as a critical raw material, largely due its high supply risk. Currently, its alternative, synthetic graphite, presents the same supply risk and is an energy intensive process, requiring temperatures of up to 3000 °C for production. Therefore, it is essential a more sustainable solution to replacing raw graphite is found. Biomass is ideal as a sustainable precursor to graphitic carbons. 1 As the most abundant biopolymer on the planet, cellulose is a particularly attractive option. One route to generate graphitic carbons from biomass is catalytic graphitization. 2 This method uses catalysts such as iron to convert amorphous carbon to graphitic carbon at relatively low temperatures (~800 °C). However, there is much debate around the mechanism of graphitization, as well as a lack of understanding of how the catalyst precursor may influence the outcome. For cellulose-derived carbons to become commercially viable the process must be optimised, so it is crucial to have an in depth understanding of how the mechanism proceeds. In our work, we have characterized this system using a wide range of ex-situ analytical techniques to observe the influence of iron salts on the degradation and subsequent graphitization of cellulose. This work indicates that there is significant impact on graphitic structure and properties through all stages, particularly in regards to particle size and rate of graphitization. Finally, we investigate the use of cellulose-derived graphitic carbons in LiBs and discuss how this can be improved using the more detailed knowledge provided by this study. References 1. E. Thompson, A. E. Danks, L. Bourgeois and Z. Schnepp, Green Chemistry , 2015, 17 , 551–556. 2. R. D. Hunter, J. L. Rowlandson, G. J. Smales, B. R. Pauw, V. P. Ting, A. Kulak and Z. Schnepp, Mater Adv , 2020, 1 , 3281–3291.
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