title: Ion-Catalyzed Synthesis of Microporous Hard Carbon Embedded with Expanded Nanographite for Enhanced Lithium/Sodium Storage.
abstract: Hard carbons attract myriad interest as anode materials for high-energy rechargeable batteries due to their low costs and high theoretical capacities; practically, they deliver unsatisfactory performance due to their intrinsically disordered microarchitecture. Here we report a facile ion-catalyzed synthesis of a phenol-formaldehyde resin-based hard-carbon aerogel that takes advantage of the chelation effect of phenol and Fe3+, which consists of a three-dimensionally interconnected carbon network embedded with hydrogen-rich, ordered microstructures of expanded nanographites and carbon micropores. The chelation effect ensures the homodispersion of Fe in the polymer segments of the precursor, so that an effective catalytic conversion from sp3to sp2carbon occurs, enabling free rearrangement of graphene sheets into expanded nanographite and carbon micropores. The structural merits of the carbon offer chances to achieve lithium/sodium storage performance far beyond that possible with the conventional carbon anode materials, including graphite and mesocarbon microbeads, along with fast kinetics and long cycle life. In this way, our hard carbon proves its feasibility to serve as an advanced anode material for high-energy rechargeable Li/Na batteries.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Long
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.|Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Physico-Inorganic Chemistry, Northwest University , Xi'an 710127, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Da-Wei
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Hong
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shu-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Goodenough