Performance of high-energy storage activated carbon derived from olive pomace biomass as an anode material for sustainable lithium-ion batteries

• Olive pomace biomass-derived activated carbon for lithium-ion batteries. • Activated Carbon prepared using H 3 PO 4 as a chemical activation agent. • Activated carbon calcinated under different controlled atmospheres. • Various spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis used to assess properties. • Results showed high specific capacity and stable cycling performance. In this work, we investigate how activated carbon (AC) derived from olive pomace biomass can be used as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries. The biomass-derived activated carbon has the potential to be highly efficient, deliver high performance, sustainable, and cost-effective in LIBs-related production. The activated carbon is prepared by using H 3 PO 4 as a chemical activation agent, and then calcining the obtained product at 500°C for different controlled atmospheres under (i) air (AC-Atm), (ii) vacuum (AC-Vac), and (iii) argon (AC-Arg). The different samples were systematically analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to assess their properties. The electrochemical properties of the carbonaceous materials were studied by galvanostatic cycling, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed high specific capacity and stable cycling performance, with capacities of 288, 184, and 56 mAh g -1 at the current density of 25 mA g -1 after 70 cycles for AC-Arg, AC-Vac, and AC-Atm respectively. Furthermore, the CE efficiency was nearly 100% from the first cycles. This study opens up interesting prospects and offers promising opportunities for more efficient recovery of unused olive pomace waste, by integrating it into energy storage applications, particularly sustainable lithium-ion batteries.