Unlocking fast sodium storage in biomass-derived carbon via activation-doping synergy: Experimental and theoretical insights

Development of sodium-ion battery anodes that combine high reversible capacity with exceptional rate capability is paramount. Herein, we propose a synergistic strategy to engineer a hierarchical porous carbon anode enriched with heteroatom defects (PS-BC600), derived from industrial bamboo waste at a moderate temperature of 600 °C. The material exhibits reduced charge transfer resistance and accelerated ion transport kinetics. Furthermore, Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that P, S co-doping modulates the electronic structure of the carbon matrix, enhances Na + adsorption stability and lowers the energy barrier for Na + diffusion. The open hierarchical porous architecture significantly minimizes solid-state diffusion pathways for ions. Evaluated as an anode in half-cells, PS-BC600 delivers a high initial reversible capacity of 559.2 mAh g −1 at 100 mA g −1 . Notably, it retains a capacity of 304.3 mAh g −1 even at a high current density of 2 A g −1 , underscoring its superior rate performance.