Synthesis of tunable nitrogen-doped graphite nanostructures by electrochemical CO2 conversion for directly as anode materials

In this paper, nitrogen-doped nano-graphite with granular, flake and linear structures was in-situ prepared by one-step molten salt electrolysis process through electrochemical conversion of CO 2 in LiCl–KCl–KOH at 650 °C with C 3 H 6 N 6 as N source. The mechanism and reaction process of nitrogen doped into nano-graphite during the formation process of nano-graphite was systemically investigated. In addition, nitrogen doping formed a well-developed micro/mesoporous carbon network and played an important role in facilitating the adsorption of Li + ions, leading to the excellent electrochemical performance of the prepared carbon materials, which was demonstrated in the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Such as, the reversible capacity of the N-doped nano-graphite material is 628 mAh/g at a current density of 100 mA/g, with high capacity retention of 96 % after 500 cycles at 500 mA/g. This study highlights the potential of molten salt electrolysis as an effective method for CO 2 conversion into high-performance carbon materials, providing promising applications in electrochemical energy storage technologies. • Highlighting of manuscript. • Direct conversion of carbon dioxide into nitrogen-doped composites using a one-step molten salt method. • A new molten salt system (LiCl–KCl–KOH–C 3 H 6 N 6 ) was pioneered to prepare nitrogen-doped graphite nanostructures. • Mechanisms of nitrogen sources in molten salts have been investigated using thermodynamics and modeling. • The products were applied to lithium batteries, and the performance of lithium batteries far exceeded that of commercial carbon materials.