A Recyclable Polyimide Derived Hard Carbon as a High-Performance Negative Electrode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Hard carbon, characterized by high ion storage capacity, low operating voltage, and excellent cycling stability, is considered an ideal negative electrode material for sodium-ion batteries. However, the high cost and low carbon yield of thermosetting precursors limit their practical application in SIBs, while low-cost and high-yield raw materials exhibit highly ordered carbon structures and narrow interlayer spacing under high-temperature carbonization. Discarded polyimide materials are inexpensive, which offer a high carbon yield and possess good thermal stability and thermoplasticity, with functional groups of imide rings (-CO-N-CO-) on their main chains. This study recycled and converted polyimide materials into hard carbon materials from discarded engineering plastics, investigating the influence of carbonization temperature on the degree of graphitization, interlayer spacing, and pore structure of the materials to achieve high reversible sodium storage capacity. After carbonization at 1300 degrees C, the polyimide material exhibited 319 mAh g-1 reversible capacity and excellent electrochemical performance (with a capacity retention of 91.92 % after 100 cycles at a 0.5 C current rate) and rate performance (up to 242.5 mAh g-1 at 2 C). This study provided a simple, high-yield, and effective method for the reuse of discarded organic polymers, promoting the sustainable utilization of resources. The study proposes a simple and effective method to convert discarded polyimide into hard carbon. It investigates the influence of carbonization temperature on the microstructure changes of polyimide-based hard carbon materials and their effect on sodium storage performance, demonstrating excellent electrochemical performance. This work contributes to environmental protection and sustainable resource utilization.. image