Porous hard carbon has recently gained attention as an anode material for KIB because of its superior potassium ion storage performance. In this study, an efficient method for producing polyethylene-based hollow porous carbon is presented. Partial sulfonation was applied, and the porosity of the resulting carbon material was regulated by the sulfonation time. A hollow structure with the high specific surface area of 173.3 m2/g was achieved via partial sulfonation and carbonization without additional activation. Using polyethylene (PE)-based porous carbon as an anode material for KIB, a high specific discharge capacity of 187 mAh/g and excellent rate capability at 1000 mA/g were achieved. Moreover, potassium-ion storage mechanisms were identified and compared with those of non-porous PE-based carbon anodes. This study provides an effective method for preparing porous PE-based carbon with superior energy storage performance.

Polyethylene based hollow porous carbon by facile method for KIB anode material
    Abstract
    1 Introduction
    2 Experimental
        2.1 Synthesis of PE-based porous carbons
        2.2 Characterization of PE-based porous carbons
    3 Results and discussion
    4 Conclusion
    References

• Chaehun Lim(Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea)
• Seongjae Myeong(Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea)
• Sangyeop Lee(Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea)
• Minah Kang(Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea)
• Young-Seak Lee(Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea, Institute of Carbon Fusion Technology (InCFT), Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea) Corresponding author
• Go Bong Choi(Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST Institute for Nanocentury KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea)