Current lithium-ion battery technology depends on inorganic cathode materials, such as LiCoO₂ and LiFePO₄. However, large-scale energy storage applications, including renewable energy storage and load-leveling, require more sustainable and cost-effective electrode materials. Organic electrode materials have been studied owing to their potential advantages, including the use of earth-abundant sources, environmental friendliness, and high energy density.¹ We also have been investigating various redox-active organic electrodes by utilizing dopamine,¹ pyrene derivatives,² and glucose.³ Here, we further investigate the charge storage properties of the biomass-derived carbonaceous materials with Li- and Na-ions. We reveal that the synthesized carbonaceous materials can exhibit high capacities over 180 mAh/g in both Li- and Na-ions by based on double layer capacitance and redox reactions. These carbonaceous materials can be fabricated as the composite electrodes by mixing with conductive nanocarbons, including carbon nanotubes or reduced graphene oxides. These carbon-based composite electrodes show a high rate-capability and remarkable cycling stability. These high-performance organic electrodes could be promising candidates for developing large-scale energy storage devices.

References

1. T. Liu, K. C. Kim, B. Lee, Z. Chen, S. Noda, S. S. Jang and S. W. Lee, Energy & Environmental Science, DOI: 10.1039/C6EE02641A (2017).

2. J. C. Bachman, R. Kavian, D. J. Graham, D. Y. Kim, S. Noda, D. G. Nocera, Y. Shao-Horn and S. W. Lee, Nature Communications, 6:7040 (2015).

3. T. Y. Liu, R. Kavian, Z. M. Chen, S. S. Cruz, S. Noda and S. W. Lee, Nanoscale, 8, 3671 (2016).