Biomass Based Carbon Nanospheres as Electrode Materials in Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

Carbon nanospheres (CNSs) are classified as nanostructure carbon materials next to Fullerenes and Carbon Nanotubes and have shown good prospects for application as alternative anodes for Lithium Ion Battery (LIB). CNSs possess some remarkable characteristics such as high specific capacity and good rate capability as anode materials in LIB. In this work, the synthesis of carbon nano-spheres onto the surface of activated carbon support was carried out by thermal assisted catalytic pyrolysis technique and utilizing palm oil as renewable and eco-friendly carbon source. The structure and morphology of the resulting nano carbons are examined with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and cyclic test of the carbon product as an anode material for lithium ion batteries are also investigated. From TEM observations, it can be shown that CNSs has turbostratic structure in the presence of Fe-metal catalyst. The CNSs have a stable cycle performance up to 100 cycles at a constant current density of 200 mA/g, showing its potential as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries.