Porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets derived from oil palm petioles for use as the sulfur host material in high-rate and durable Li-S batteries

The composition and structure of the sulfur host material in lithium-sulfur batteries are the main reasons for differences in battery performance, and one that is both economical and environmentally friendly is needed for producing practical batteries. We have used an innovative method to prepare nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheets (N-PPCNs) from the petioles of palm trees. A nitrogen dopped material consisting of stacks of these nano-sheets was synthesized by soaking the petioles in urea followed by chemical activation. The porous carbon materials were uniformly doped with nitrogen and were used as the sulfur host material, which increased the adsorption energy of polysulfides and accelerated the conversion from long-chain polysulfides to short-chain polysulfides. The porous structure and nitrogen doping work together to suppress the “shuttle effect”, enabling the electrode to achieve a high specific capacity of 1257 mAh g −1 , and still maintain a specific capacity of 490 mAh g −1 after 500 cycles at a rate of 1 C. This work demonstrates the potential reuse of waste biomass.