Jute sticks derived novel graphitic porous carbon nanosheets as Li-ion battery anode material with superior electrochemical properties

Graphitic porous carbon sheets (GPCS), which were synthesized at a low temperature of 900°C by KOH chemical activation technique, possess a specific surface area of 1246 m2 g-1 with high pore volume. The size of the pores varied in micro-mesopore regions and exhibited three-dimensional sheet-like morphology composed of multilayered graphene sheets with an inter planar distance of 0.360 nm. The GPCS material was tested as anode for Li-ion battery (LIB) application in half cell mode (vs Li+/Li). The fabricated GPCS electrode shows excellent electrochemical properties in comparison with commercial graphite such as a high discharge specific capacity of 1022 mA h g-1 after 10 cycles at 100 mA g-1 and excellent specific capacity retention of 170 mA h g-1 at a very high current rate of 8000 mA g-1 and also retains a high capacity of 541 mA h g-1 after 250 cycles at 500 mA g-1, which suggests that GPCS material can be a promising electrode for LIB application. A brief comparison with commercial graphite and various carbonaceous materials from literature demonstrated that the GPCS electrode was potential material for high rate LIBs.