Mechanochemistry induced pore regulation and pyridinic nitrogen doping in anthracite derived carbon for sodium storage

Carbon materials have been widely used as the sodium ion batteries (SIBs) anodes. The pore structure and surface chemistry are critically important to improve the sodium storage performance. Here, the mechanochemistry assisted N-doping strategy was adopted to achieve pore regulation and pyridinic nitrogen doping in anthracite-derived carbon. The mechanochemistry method was conducive to introducing abundant mesopores, with the mesopore volume enhanced by 80 %–171 %. The mechanochemistry method facilitated the generation of abundant edge defects and sodium adsorption sites including pyridinic nitrogen and carbonyl groups. Therefore, the N-doped anthracite anode with improved Na+ and electron dynamics, delivered an enhanced reversible capacity of 320.9 mA h g−1 under 0.03 A g−1 and retains 194.4 mA h g−1 under 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles. This work offers a novel and green approach to adjusting pore structure and surface chemistry of coal-based carbon materials and promotes the large-scale application of SIBs.