Influence of Growth Parameters on the Electrochemical Performance of Electrodeposited Carbons

Generating useful chemicals from CO2 is driving research into carbon capture and utilization. In this work, hard carbons are electrodeposited on various substrates from molten carbonate melts in CO2 atmospheres. These electrodeposited carbons are subsequently used as anodes in sodium-ion batteries, with preliminary investigations into their performance in potassium-ion batteries. The hard carbons were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Hard carbons grown on graphite substrates produced initial reversible capacities of 405 +/- 29 mAh/g and capacity retention of 85.2 +/- 1.1% after 50 cycles when cycled at 10 mA/g which are amongst the highest capacities reported for hard carbons to date. This work clearly illustrates that the carbons generated via CO2 mediated electrodeposition are suitable for application in next generation batteries.