Polystyrene packaging waste used to create carbon electrodes for Li-ion batteries

The polystyrene used in the packaging proved to be a headache during handling. Recycling options are scarce, which means that materials usually end up in landfills. However, a research team at Purdue University in the United States has developed a method that can convert polystyrene in waste packaging into carbon electrodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which are said to perform better than traditional graphite electrodes. According to Professor Vilas Pol, the method is simple and straightforward. "Usually," peanuts "are heated in a furnace under an inert atmosphere between 500 and 900 ° C in the presence or absence of a transition metal salt catalyst." According to the team, commercial anode particles are about 10 times thicker than new anodes and have higher electrical resistance, which increases charging time. "In our case, if this material is lithiated during battery charging, it can only propagate 1 μm, so you can charge and discharge the battery faster than commercially available materials," Professor Pol said. The carbon anode derived from polystyrene packaging has a maximum specific capacity of 420mAhr / g-higher than the theoretical capacity of 372 mAh / g of graphite. "The long-term electrochemical performance of these carbon electrodes is very stable," said Vinodkumar Etacheri, a postdoctoral research assistant. "We cycled them 300 times without significant capacity loss. These carbon electrodes are also expected to be used for rechargeable sodium Ion batteries. Future work will include steps to potentially improve performance by further activation to increase surface area and pore size to improve electrochemical performance. "