Scalable top-down synthesis of functional carbon nanosheets by aronia fruit powder for Li+ and K+ storage

Abstract

Carbon nanosheets (CNSs) have been used in various applications, ranging from energy storage to drug delivery. CNSs are conventionally synthesized by chemical vapor deposition, but their high cost and non-scalability prompted the development of alternative synthesis routes. More scalable methods such as the sol-gel process still suffer from its complicated synthetic steps with delicate conditions. Here, we demonstrate for the first time a unique top-down synthesis of CNSs from aronia fruit powder, which is simple, scalable, and cost-effective. Aronia-derived CNS can be fabricated at various heating temperatures (500, 700, and 90 0 degrees C) and under different atmospheres (N-2/H-2 and NH3), which can easily tune the overall physicochemical properties of the CNS. We evaluated the electrochemical performance of the CNS for potential applications in Li- and K-ion batteries, in which the CNS showed stable electrochemical performance even at a high current density (1000 mA g(-1)). Because of the high-throughput nature of this synthetic approach, the aronia-derived CNSs could be very useful in developing novel applications at an industrial scale. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.