Sodium salt effect on hydrothermal carbonization of biomass: a catalyst for carbon-based nanostructured materials for lithium-ion battery applications

The salt effect of NaxA (A = SO42−, Cl−, NO3−, etc.) on the hydrothermal carbonization of biomass is reported. It is a new catalyst and recyclable template to more simply and effectively prepare carbon-based materials, such as porous carbon-coated anode materials (e.g., Fe3O4@porous-C) in lithium-ion battery applications with enhanced performance.