Rice husk lignin-based porous carbon and ZnO composite as an anode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

ZnO is considered to be the next generation lithium-ion battery anode material due to its high theoretical capacity, low potential, abundant resources and low toxicity. However, high volume expansion during charge-discharge process makes ZnO powdered and agglomerated easily. In the work, we fabricate a porous carbon skeleton by using rice husk (RH) lignin, and the ZnO nanoparticles are supported on the skeleton uniformly. Its unique structure provides excellent stability and electrical conductivity. RH as a carbon source will improve the utilization rate of biomass materials in the refining process. The samples were characterised by XRD, Raman, TG, SEM and transmission electron microscopy, and the materials presented a promising Li storage properties and electrochemical performance with a discharge capacity of 898.1 mAh g(-1) at 0.2C after 110 cycles, which is very close to the theoretical specific capacity of zinc oxide (978 mAh g(-1)).