Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition-Assisted Construction of Biomass-Derived Porous Carbon

Designing electrode materials that simultaneously exhibit excellent electrochemical performance and cost efficiency plays a vital role in enhancing both the capacity density and long cycle stability of energy storage systems. In this research, a novel strategy combining hydrothermal treatment and steam-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is proposed to fabricate biomass-derived porous carbon (CC-PECVD) using corncob as the carbon source. Compared with conventional high-temperature carbonization, this method optimizes the pore structure significantly, leading to a higher specific surface area (373.4 m2 g–1) and a more uniform mesopore distribution (∼5 nm), thereby enhancing ion diffusion efficiency and charge storage capacity. Structural analysis demonstrates that the application of PECVD facilitates the construction of a three-dimensional mesoporous framework with a honeycomb-like architecture while incorporating abundant oxygen/nitrogen functional groups onto the carbon surface simultaneously. These structural and chemical modifications significantly increase the number of active sites, thereby promoting ion transport and charge storage. Electrochemical properties reveal that the CC-PECVD electrode delivers outstanding capacitive behavior when applied in supercapacitor systems, achieving a specific capacitance of 250 F g–1 at 1 A g–1. Moreover, when employed as an anode in sodium-ion battery systems, the CC-PECVD electrode shows a considerable reversible capacity of approximately 266 mAh g–1, along with excellent cycling durability. These results show that this approach not only offers an eco-friendly and effective way to transform agricultural biomass into high-value carbon materials but also creates a potential route for the efficient synthesis of carbon-based electrodes for future energy storage systems.