Lotus Root-Derived Porous Carbon as an Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

When being used as anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), environmental friendly and easily available biomass-derived carbon materials often suffer from complex preparation conditions, underdeveloped pore structures and relatively low circulation capacities. In this context, three novel biomass-derived porous carbon materials including LRK-6, LRK-7 and LRK-8 sourced from lotus roots are activated and carbonized by a simple method. The prepared material has a three-dimensional honeycomb structure. The effects of carbonization temperature on the structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of the material are investigated in detail. Owing to its high specific surface area (831.017 m(2) g(-1)), appropriate microporous content (0.217 cm(3) g(-1)) and the highest mesopore capacity (0.325 cm(3) g(-1)) together with suitable doping of N and O atoms, the as-optimized LRK-7 material shows a reversible specific capacity of 725.25 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g(-1) and 614.60 mAh g(-1) after 223 cycles at 0.3 A g(-1). Besides, LRK-7 material also exhibits high rate performance, achieving a capacity of 153.5 mAh g(-1) at 9.0 A g(-1). The results verify that the application of LRK-7 as a potential anode material in the LIB will embrace a bright future.