High Graphitic Carbon Derived from Coconut Coir Waste by Promoting Potassium Hydroxide in the Catalytic Graphitization Process for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Graphite is a critical material for lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes. However, its fabrication using a simple route and sustainable carbon sources still remains a great challenge. In this current work, we fabricate high graphitic carbon from coconut coir waste by combining potassium hydroxide (KOH) and a Ni-based catalyst in a one-pot graphitization process. The graphitic carbon (1200-ANi-KOH) shows good electrochemistry performance as the anode of LIB with a specific capacity of 397.60 mA h/g, exceeding commercial graphite (339.90 mA h/g) and a high graphitic degree of IG/ID (1.99) with a surface area of 162.31 m2/g. The synergistic effect of K and Ni metal interaction with amorphous carbon promotes internal heating and catalytic graphitization, resulting in an ordered carbon structure and a greater area of graphitic structure. Ion diffusion in the graphite interlayer was found to be the dominant ion storage mechanism at 1200-ANi-KOH, which is comparable to the commercial graphite mechanism. Finally, this simple one-pot graphitization process succeeded in converting coconut coir waste into a graphitic material with a high graphitization degree and excellent LIB anode performance.