Prolonged yield platform in bioinspired three dimensional carbon materials derived from crack deflection

Brittle fracture is one of the most severe problems in carbon materials, which limits their applications in energy storage and conversion devices. Three dimensional (3D) porous carbon materials with honeycomb structure are extracted from the bio-waste, peeled pomelo material (PPM). The tensile test shows that both the ultimate tensile strength and elongation increases with increasing sintering temperature. Pronounced enhancement in the mechanical stability is revealed from the prolonged yield platform (maximum elongation, 9%), which is further rationalized in terms of the crack deflection mechanism identified from the corresponding fracture morphology. The enhancing mechanism can be utilized to design carbon materials with enhanced mechanical stability, and further improve the cycle life of carbon material applied in battery.