Biomass derived fibrous porous carbon loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles as high-performance anode materials for lithium ion batteries

The use of absorbent cotton as a biomass-derived carbon skeleton has been rarely reported. In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) was loaded on the surface of a fibrous structure derived from absorbent cotton porous carbon (PC), thereby improving its electrochemical and rate performances. The reversible capacity of the as-fabricated ZnO@PC composite, used as anode material, reached 611.0 mAh g−1 after 200 charge–discharge cycles, and its full-battery electrochemical performance was excellent. After 880 cycles, the full-battery capacity retention rate reached 74.85 %. The improvement in the electrochemical performance of the ZnO@PC composite is attributed to (1) the introduction of N-doped carbon skeletons into the composite to improve its electrical conductivity, (2) promoting effect of the fibrous structure on the electrochemical stability of the composite, the CO group was introduced into the system during the acetylation of cellulose with CH3COO−, which gives the composite higher binding energy with Li+ increases the full battery long cycle life, and (3) increase in the number of electrochemically active sites due to the large specific surface area of the composite. The as-fabricated composite can be used in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.