As a most attractive renewable resource, biomass has the advantages of low pollution, wide distribution and abundant resources, promoting its applications in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, cellulose-derived carbon nanospheres (CCS) were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) from corn straw for use as an anode in LIBs. The uniform distribution and cross-linked structure of carbon nanospheres were obtained by carefully controlling reaction time, which could not only decrease the transport pathway of lithium ions, but also reduce the structural damage caused by the intercalation of lithium ions. Especially, obtained after hydrothermal carbonization for 36 h, those typical characteristics make it deliver excellent cycling stability as well as the notable specific capacity of 577 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at 0.2C. Hence, this efficient and environment-friendly method for the fabrication of CCS from corn straw could realize the secondary utilization of biomass waste, as well as serve as a new choice for LIBs anode materials.

Rice husk (RH) was employed as a precursor for the preparation of disordered carbon for lithium-ion batteries. Disordered carbon was synthesized by pyrolysis of RH under an inert gas atmosphere followed by base treatment to remove the silica fraction. These carbons were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of reaction temperature for NaOH treatment on the capacity of these carbons were described. These carbons showed a high reversible capacity of 502 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at 0.2 C in lithium-ion battery anodes.

Porous biomass carbon derived from corn stalks was prepared via carbonization and activation of CaCl₂.

Combining the advantages of the sol–gel method and solvothermal method, the single anatase phase of nano-titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with high crystallinity had been prepared by means of the sol–solvent thermal improved process, in which butyl titanate was used as titanium source; anhydrous ethanol as solvent; concentrated nitric acid as inhibitor; and cationic surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), and nonionic surfactant polyethylene glycol (PEG) as dispersants. The analysis results of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy characterizations indicated that CTAB-modified TiO₂ with the optimum ratio had the most apparent dispersibility and the highest specific surface area compared with unmodified TiO₂, SDBS-modified TiO₂, and PEG-modified TiO₂. At the same time, the photocatalytic degradation rate of methyl orange could be improved to 99.16%. It indicated that the modification effect of CTAB was significantly better than those of SDBS and PEG, which made the nanoparticles uniformly dispersed, resulting in higher photocatalytic activity.

We employ the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the fundamental structural and dynamic properties of the ionic solution with and without the application of an external electric field.