Plastic-derived carbons for high-performance battery electrodes: upcycling, design strategies, and perspectives

Abstract

Plastic waste poses a serious environmental challenge yet also offers a valuable carbon resource. Upcycling waste plastics into functional carbon materials for battery electrodes has emerged as a promising strategy that integrates waste management with energy storage. This review systematically categorizes plastic feedstocks, including high-purity polymers, mixed post-consumer waste, and industrially pre-treated carbon residues, and describes their conversion pathways into carbon-based electrodes. Emphasis is placed on how the chemical composition and structure of different plastics determine key properties of the resulting carbons, including porosity, graphitization, and heteroatom doping. These properties, in turn, strongly influence their electrochemical performance in lithium-ion, potassium-ion, sodium-ion, lithium–sulfur, and metal–air batteries. By elucidating these structure–property-performance relationships for each type of battery chemistry, the review provides a foundation for the rational design of plastic-derived carbons. Future directions are discussed, including managing feedstock heterogeneity, scaling up production, and optimizing microstructures for targeted applications. These insights not only inform the rational design of plastic-derived carbons for various batteries but also highlight the potential of upcycling plastics to contribute to a sustainable, circular energy economy.