Enhanced Lithium- and Sodium-Ion Storage in an Interconnected Carbon Network Comprising Electronegative Fluorine.

Fluorocarbon (CF) anode materials were developed for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries through a facile one-step carbonization of a single precursor, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Interconnected carbon network structures were produced with doped fluorine in high-temperature carbonization at 500-800 °C. The fluorocarbon anodes derived from the PVDF precursor showed higher reversible discharge capacities of 735 mAh g and 269 mAh g in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries, respectively, compared to the commercial graphitic carbon. After 100 charge/discharge cycles, the fluorocarbon showed retentions of 91.3% and 97.5% in lithium (at 1C) and sodium (at 200 mA g) intercalation systems, respectively. The effects of carbonization temperature on the electrochemical properties of alkali metal ion storage were thoroughly investigated and documented. The specific capacities in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries were dependent on the fluorine content, indicating that the highly electronegative fluorine facilitates the insertion/extraction of lithium and sodium ions in rechargeable batteries.