A general approach towards carbonization of plastic waste into a well-designed 3D porous carbon framework for super lithium-ion batteries

• Published in: Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) England), 2020-08, Vol.56 (64), p.9142-9145
• Main Authors: Min, Jiakang, Wen, Xin, Tang, Tao, Chen, Xuecheng, Huo, Kaifu, Gong, Jiang, Azadmanjiri, Jalal, He, Chaobin, Mijowska, Ewa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbonization; Hydrocarbons; Iron; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Magnesium oxide; Nanomaterials; Polymers; Rechargeable batteries; Superconductors (materials)
• ISSN: 1359-7345; 1364-548X
• DOI: 10.1039/d0cc03236k

Due to the ever-increasing plastic waste causing serious environmental problems, it is highly desirable to recycle it into high-value-added products, such as carbon nanomaterials. However, the traditional catalytic carbonization of hydrocarbon polymers is severely prohibited by the complexity of real-world plastic waste due to the existence of halogen-containing polymers. In this study, through a universal combined template based on magnesium oxide and iron( iii ) acetylacetonate (Fe(acac) 3 ), a three-dimensional hollow carbon sphere/porous carbon flake hybrid nanostructure is prepared from carbonization of plastic waste with high yields (>70 wt%). This approach is not only suitable for hydrocarbon polymers, but also for halogen-containing polymers. Interestingly, the obtained advanced carbon framework exhibits excellent performance in lithium-ion batteries (802 mA h g −1 after 500 cycles at 0.5 A g −1 ). The present research paves a new avenue to upcycle plastic waste into a high value-added product. The 3D hollow carbon sphere/porous carbon flake hybrids are facilely prepared from the carbonization of both hydrocarbon and halogen-containing plastic wastes by a general template method, which exhibits superior performance in a lithium-ion battery.