Interlaced carbon belts from laboratory waste: Investigation into the electrochemical properties for sodium-ion battery with lab scale demonstration

The research work demonstrates the potential of developing negative electrode from laboratory waste for sodium-ion battery (SIB) application. In this investigation, carbon-based anode material is synthesized by pyrolysis of discarded laboratory tissue paper over 800° to 1400°C. The physio-chemical investigation of the anode powder pyrolyzed at 1400°C revealed interlaced belt morphology contributing to 350 mAhg⁻¹ sodiation capacity at 20 mAg⁻¹ with 70% capacity holding after 400 cycles at 100 mAg⁻¹. The Na⁺ diffusion kinetics parameters are assessed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The Na storage mechanism was elucidated in depth by in-situ Raman spectroscopy. The results obtained in the study establish the tissue paper waste as a promising precursor to synthesize hard carbon with interlaced carbonaceous belts structure as anode material for SIBs by a simple one-step pyrolysis process.