Controllable synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanobubbles to realize high-performance lithium and sodium storage

Abstract

Carbon nanobubbles are regarded as one of the most promising carbon-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), with significantly improved capacity and superior cycling stability. The wet-chemistry method is a cost-effective and readily scalable method of preparing carbon nanobubbles when compared to common pyrolysis, but balancing the relationship between high capacity and low initial coulombic efficiency still remains challenging. Herein, we present a solution-polymerization method associated with a removable template to realize the controllable synthesis of N-doped carbon nanobubbles (NCN). The obtained NCN material delivers impressive high specific capacity as an anode for both LIBs and SIBs (799 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.8 A g⁻¹ for 385 cycles in LIBs; 248 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.3 A g⁻¹ for 200 cycles in SIBs). Meanwhile, the NCN anode exhibits an initial coulombic efficiency of nearly 80% for both LIBs and SIBs, which is ascribed to the moderate specific surface area and rational structure design.