The proposed origin of the improved ORR activity is unlikely to be from residual metal impurities but from the creation of topological defects caused by the removal of high temperature CO desorbing oxygen functional groups.

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Graphite is a critical material for lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes. However, its fabrication using a simple route and sustainable carbon sources still remains a great challenge. In this current work, we fabricate high graphitic carbon from coconut coir waste by combining potassium hydroxide (KOH) and a Ni-based catalyst in a one-pot graphitization process. The graphitic carbon (1200-ANi-KOH) shows good electrochemistry performance as the anode of LIB with a specific capacity of 397.60 mA h/g, exceeding commercial graphite (339.90 mA h/g) and a high graphitic degree of I G /I D (1.99) with a surface area of 162.31 m 2 /g. The synergistic effect of K and Ni metal interaction with amorphous carbon promotes internal heating and catalytic graphitization, resulting in an ordered carbon structure and a greater area of graphitic structure. Ion diffusion in the graphite interlayer was found to be the dominant ion storage mechanism at 1200-ANi-KOH, which is comparable to the commercial graphite mechanism. Finally, this simple one-pot graphitization process succeeded in converting coconut coir waste into a graphitic material with a high graphitization degree and excellent LIB anode performance.

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