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Boric Acid–Catalyzed Hard Carbon Microfiber Derived from Cotton as a High‐Performance Anode for Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Author(s) -
Tan Muchu,
Zhang Weihua,
Fan Changling,
Li Lingfang,
Chen Han,
Li Rong,
Luo Ting,
Han Shaochang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201801164
Subject(s) - boric acid , boron , carbon fibers , lithium (medication) , materials science , graphite , catalysis , carbonization , intercalation (chemistry) , anode , chemical engineering , crystal (programming language) , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , composite material , composite number , organic chemistry , scanning electron microscope , medicine , electrode , engineering , endocrinology , computer science , programming language
The catalysis role of boric acid at 800 °C is investigated in the synthesis of hard carbon from cotton. X‐ray diffraction analysis shows that d 002 decreases and the size of the carbon crystal increases, which can only be realized at a higher temperature. Boron atoms are mainly combined on the surface layer of the particle. The specific capacity of the sample with B:C = 2.5 at 30, 1500 mA g −1 increases from 381.0 and 149.7 mAh g −1 (B:C = 0) to 526.8 and 196.6 mAh g −1 , respectively. It is attributed not only to the plateau around 0.1 V, which results from the intercalation mechanism between graphite layers, but also to the storage mechanism of micropores. The capacity retention in the 200th cycle at 300 mA g −1 is improved from 88.5% to 94.1%. Therefore, the carbonization process of cotton is accelerated, and the catalysis function of boric acid proves to be workable. These improvements are partially resulting from the enlargement and regular stacking of carbon layers, which can accommodate more lithium ions. As boron atoms can occupy the defect vacancy points and order, large carbon layers are formed because of the electron deficiency property and fast transfer speed of boron atoms.