Seaweed-like porous carbon from the decomposition of polypyrrole nanowires for application in lithium ion batteries

Abstract

High yield porous carbon is prepared via the chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole and subsequent the decomposition of polypyrrole nanowires with KOH activation. The obtained carbon materials take on a seaweed-like porous morphology. The effects of the KOH mass and activation temperature on the morphology, structure and electrochemical performance of the porous carbon materials are studied in detail. When evaluated for the electrochemical properties in lithium ion batteries as anode materials, one of the unique porous products exhibits an ultra-high reversible capacity of about 1010.2 mA h g⁻¹ at the first cycle and excellent capacity retention in the following cycles.