Spruce Needles‐Derived N‐Doped Carbon as an Excellent Anode Material for Li‐Ion Batteries

Graphite‐based anodes have long underpinned the commercial success of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), enabling stable and reliable electrochemical performance. To address the growing demand for sustainable electrode materials, this work presents nitrogen‐doped carbon derived from spruce needles as a novel anode material for LIBs. Spruce needles are an environmentally benign, naturally abundant bioresource for the preparation of nitrogen‐doped carbon. Design‐directed melamine–CaCl 2 –assisted solid‐state pyrolysis is used to derive nitrogen‐doped carbon from spruce needles. The prepared nitrogen‐doped carbon, when tested as an anode material in LIBs, exhibits a specific capacity of 630 mAh/g (at a C‐rate of 0.1 C), which is far higher than that of graphite. Also, the nitrogen‐doped carbon exhibits excellent cycling stability and rate capability. This work also elucidates how the nitrogen‐doping percentage influences the electrochemical performance of nitrogen‐doped carbon. This work provides a sustainable waste‐to‐resource strategy for energy harvesting and battery technology.