Nitrogen-doped hard carbon derived from agro-food waste of mushroom bags biomass as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries

Abstract

Abstract Biomass wastage of mushroom bags derived hard carbon (MDC) has been prepared simple carbonization route and modified with nitrogen (N-MDC) using hexamethylenetetramine as nitrogen source. The N-MDC shows superior sodium-ion storage performance, ensuing cost-effective manner of bio-waste to green energy application. Nitrogen-doped carbon delivered 218 mAh g ^ −1 at a current density of 100 mA g ^ −1 after 200 cycles. Bioresource wastages are efficient pioneer of sustainable carbon production. In this study, we explore a simple method to synthesize nitrogen-doped hard carbon from agricultural waste of mushroom bags and used as an anode material for sodium-ion storage applications. The physico-chemical properties and electrochemical measurements are systematically analyzed and compared with as-prepared mushroom-derived pristine carbon (MDC) and nitrogen-doped carbon (N-MDC). The N-MDC sample shows higher atomic percentage of pyridine N content. The N-MDC-used electrode cell exhibits better reversible capacity and rate capability than that of pristine MDC. The specific capacity of N-MDC delivers 218 mAh g^−1 at a current density of 100 mA g^−1 after 200 cycles. The impedance result of N-MDC is reduced from 38.7 to 21.3 Ω. In addition, the diffusion coefficient of Na^+ has been increased from 1.55 × 10^–12 to 1.58 × 10^–11 cm^2 s^−1 after the N-doping process. This research is not only solved the problem of biomass waste disposal but also produced valuable functional carbon materials to utilize the high-performance eco-friendly energy storage applications. Graphical abstract