From Biomass to Energy Storage: A Review on Lignocellulosic Biomass-Derived Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries

In recent years, the abundance and widespread availability of sodium resources have spurred a great deal of interest in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), which are now one of the most cost-effective alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Since graphite, the commercial anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), has shown a relatively low capacity for SIBs, substantial research has been performed to produce acceptable anodes for SIBs. Hard carbons, especially those generated from biomass, have great potential for SIB technology because of their low cost and consistently improving performance. This review seeks to offer an overview of current progress in the manufacturing of hard carbon anodes from biomass. It focuses on the precursors utilized and how they impact the final properties of carbon (structure, texture, and surface chemistry), as well as the electrochemical performance of Na-ion batteries (reversible capacity and initial Coulombic efficiency). The review concludes by highlighting the studies that focus on hard carbon doping with different heteroatoms and how it overcomes the performance limitations that SIBs face, such as irreversible capacity, initially low Coulombic efficiency, and poor rate performance.