Regulating the Microcrystalline Structure of Anthracite via Thermal Treatment Strategies for Enhanced Sodium-Ion Storage Performance

Sodium-ions and lithium ions are in the same main group, have the same chemical properties, and are low in price, so they are expected to replenish lithium-ion batteries. Among the various anode materials for sodium-ion batteries, anthracite has attracted much attention due to its low price and carbon content exceeding 90%. Although significant progress has been made in the research of hard carbon derived from anthracite-based carbon materials, the reversible capacity and initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of anthracite-based soft carbon are still not satisfactory. This paper uses anthracite as raw material and adjusts the specific surface area and defects through mechanical shearing, and regulates the interlayer spacing through temperature. Achieve a relatively high capacity of anthracite at 304.4 mAh g ^-1 and an ICE of 89.3%. Low-cost anthracite coal, low-cost processes, and high initial coulombic efficiency—these outstanding performance characteristics meet the requirements of practical applications and lay the foundation for the large-scale industrial production of low-cost, high-performance sodium-ion batteries for energy storage.