Crab shells made an anode for cheap rechargeable batteries

A group of researchers from Japan and China proposed using crustacean shells as

alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. The technology they created makes it possible to make a carbon anode from shells for rechargeable sodium-based batteries.

To make your "crab carbon"researchers heated crustacean shells to temperatures in excess of 500°C. After that, they added the resulting carbon to a solution of either tin sulfide or iron sulfide and then dried them to form anodes. The porous fibrous structure of crab carbon provides a large surface area, which increases the material's conductivity and the ability to efficiently transport sodium ions.

In traditional modern batteriesA lithium-ion structure is used. It has proven itself well, but lithium is a rather rare and expensive metal. As an alternative, various laboratories are working on the production of sodium-ion batteries. Although sodium ions are chemically similar to lithium, they are larger and therefore incompatible with the anode of a lithium-ion battery, which is typically made of graphite. 

Crab-derived carbon made it possible to createa porous, fibrous anode with a high surface area that improved conductivity and the ability to transport sodium ions. The researchers showed that in the battery model, both tin and iron composites demonstrate the ability to recharge for at least 200 cycles. While this is still less than lithium batteries, this is a big breakthrough for alternative technology.

The researchers note that crab shells, which are formed as waste from the food industry, are enough for production. An increase in production is not required.

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