Graphite anode is still a popular battery electrode material, but interestingly, some researchers have developed a dual-ion battery that uses graphite as both a positive and negative electrode. The research related to nuclear graphite mainly focuses on improving graphite purity and reducing graphite anisotropy.
When applied as a negative electrode for LIBs, the as-converted graphite materials deliver a competitive specific capacity of ≈360 mAh g −1 (0.2 C) compared with commercial graphite. This approach has great potential to scale up for sustainably converting low-value PC into high-quality graphite for energy storage.
To date, the continued expansion of electric vehicles and energy storage devices market has stimulated the demand for high energy density Li-ion batteries (LIBs). The traditional graphite negative electrode materials, limited by its low theoretical specific capacity of 372 mAh·g −1, cannot meet that growing demand.
The traditional graphite negative electrode materials, limited by its low theoretical specific capacity of 372 mAh·g −1, cannot meet that growing demand. In this circumstance, a novel negative electrode material with a high capacity, long-term stability and cheap affordability, is much needed .
Natural graphite also has the advantages of low charge/discharge voltage plateau and high theoretical specific capacity, so it is considered by researchers as a promising anode material for metal ion batteries .
Nano-silicon (nano-Si) and its composites have been regarded as the most promising negative electrode materials for producing the next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs), due to their ultrahigh theoretical capacity.