Preparation and Characterization of Spherical Carbon Composite for Use as Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries

摘要

Anovel spherical carbon composite material, in which nanosized disordered carbons are dispersed in a soft carbon matrix, has been prepared and investigated for use as a potential anode material for lithium ion batteries. Disordered carbons were synthesized by ball milling natural graphite in air. The composite was prepared by mixing the ball-milled graphite with petroleum pitch powder, pelletizing the mixture, and pyrolyzing the pellets at 1200℃ in an argon flow. The ball-milled graphite consists of distorted nanocrystallites and amorphous phases. In the composite particle, nanosized flakes are uniformly distributed in a soft carbon matrix, as revealed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments. The composite is compatible with a pure propylene carbonate (PC) electrolyte and shows high rate capability and excellent cycling performance. The electrochemical properties are comparable to those of hard carbon.