Bacterial cellulose-derived micro/mesoporous carbon anode materials controlled by poly(methyl methacrylate) for fast sodium ion transport

An advanced nanostructure with rational micro/mesoporous distribution plays an important role in achieving high electrochemical performance in sodium ion batteries (SIBs), especially the energy storage efficiency in the low-potential region during the charging/discharging processes. Here we propose a method of polymer-blended bacterial cellulose (BC) matrix to tune the micro/mesopores of polymer-BC derived carbon under a mild carbonization temperature. The targeted pore structure and electrochemical performance are optimized by controlling the amount of methyl methacrylate monomers via free-radical polymerization, and carbonized temperature via pyrolysis treatment. The constructed carbon materials display a stable 3D fibrous network with a large specific area and abundant micro/mesopores formed during the pyrolysis of the polymer poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Taking advantage of the constructed pore structure, the optimized carbon anodes derived from BC/PMMA composites show an enhanced Na⁺ diffusion rate with a high capacity of 380.66 mA h g^-1 at 0.03 A g^-1. It is interesting that it possesses superior low-potential capacity, and retains 42% of the total capacity even at a high scan rate of 1 mV s^-1. The proposed method of polymer-blended on cellulose matrix provides an energy-efficient way to achieve high low-potential capacity under facile processing conditions for fast sodium ion transport in SIBs.