Feasibility Study of Basic Steel Slag as Anode of Li‐Ion Batteries

ABSTRACT

The elevated expenses and utilization of hazardous chemicals in traditional chemical synthesis of anode materials of Li‐ion batteries (LIBs) demand more environmentally friendly and economical approaches for a sustainable energy transition. Herein, a very cheap and facile fabrication approach has been conducted to fabricate anode materials from basic steel slag. Characterization techniques confirmed that the slags were composed of numerous major and minor transition metal oxides' (TMOs) nanosheets with an average thickness of 30.76 nm. The fabricated steel slag electrodes displayed the first cycle charge‐discharge capacities of 161.42 mAh g ⁻¹ and 127.34 mAh g ⁻¹ at a current density of 20 mA g ⁻¹ with Columbic efficiency (CE) of 78.89%. The electrode portrayed improved discharge capacity after 150 cycles and maintained a consistent capacity even after 500 cycles. It exhibited average rate capacities of 115.18, 64.17, 35.86, and 35.42 mAh g ⁻¹ at current densities of 20, 40, 80, and 200 mAg ⁻¹ , respectively. Detailed electrochemical investigations indicate cell degradation upon cycling.