Insight into the rapid sodium storage mechanism of the fiber-like oxygen-doped hierarchical porous biomass derived hard carbon

Biomass, as a continuously available raw material, is widely used to produce hard carbon. However, many researchers have ignored the natural special morphology of biomass and the influence of oxygen on the sodium storage performance. Here, we use the cilia of the setaria viridis as the precursor to obtain a fiber-like oxygen-doped hierarchical porous hard carbon (SVC). The sodium storage mechanism of SVC is studied by controlling the pyrolysis temperature. Studies have shown that the natural fibrous structure and vertical holes of SVC can provide channels for the rapid penetration of electrolyte. The appropriate nanocrystal size affords commodious circumstances for the insertion of Na⁺. More importantly, the increase in carbonization temperature will change the bonding mode of carbon and oxygen, promote the rupture of single bonds and retain the existence of double bonds, which is beneficial to the improvement of coulombic efficiency and reversible capacity. The hybrid sodium storage mechanism composed of insertion behavior and capacitance behavior promotes SVC to have higher reversible capacity (285.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.05 A g⁻¹) and excellent rate performance (90.7 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹). This research provides some new ideas for the study of hard carbon.