Issue 15, 2024

Catalytic graphitization of pyrolysis oil for anode application in lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Graphite demand is increasing rapidly due to the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) and mobile devices. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the power source of EVs and mobile devices and the anodes of LIBs are mostly made of graphite, which is currently produced in an unsustainable and costly manner. For the first time, battery-grade biographite is produced from a renewable and sustainable precursor, biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, using iron as the graphitizing catalyst. Considering battery-grade graphite production at scale, pyrolysis oil offers several advantages as feedstock over biomass in terms of higher carbon density, low inorganics, easy handling, and low transportation cost. Catalytic graphitization of pyrolysis oil can be induced at low temperature (∼1100 °C). Herein, catalytic graphitization using iron powder was carried out under relatively moderate conditions (1500 °C) to reduce costs and environmental impact as compared to incumbent technologies. After graphitization, the residual catalyst was removed by refluxing the biographite + iron solid mixture with hydrochloric acid. The efficiency of iron removal was studied using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. The structural and morphological properties of biographites were assessed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The in situ XRD experiments provided a mechanistic understanding of the iron-catalyzed graphitization process. In addition, the effect of pyrolysis oil aging on the biographite crystalline structure was elucidated. The optimal biographite sample demonstrated impressive electrochemical performance with a reversible capacity of 350 mA h g−1, an initial coulombic efficiency of 90.2%, and minimal capacity loss over 100 cycles when applied as an LIB anode, thereby making pyrolysis oil-derived biographite potentially competitive with commercially available battery-grade graphite.

Graphical abstract: Catalytic graphitization of pyrolysis oil for anode application in lithium-ion batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Apr 2024
Accepted
01 Jul 2024
First published
02 Jul 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Green Chem., 2024,26, 8840-8853

Catalytic graphitization of pyrolysis oil for anode application in lithium-ion batteries

S. C. Dey, L. Lower, T. Vook, Md. N. Islam, W. J. Sagues, S. Han, M. R. Nimlos, S. S. Kelley and S. Park, Green Chem., 2024, 26, 8840 DOI: 10.1039/D4GC01647E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements