Low-crystallized carbon materials for lithium-ion secondary batteries

The charge/discharge characteristics and mechanisms of low-crystallized carbons which have larger capacity than graphite have been investigated. Low-crystallized carbons have two principal types of charge curve versus Li metal. Hard carbons prepared at 1100 °C (H11) show charge curves with a low average potential, whereas soft carbons pyrolyzed at 700 °C (S7) show those with a high average potential. These results might depend on the lithium diffusion rate in their non-crystallized sites. The 18650-type Li-ion batteries using H11 have comparable capacity versus graphite, whereas the batteries using S7 have low capacity because of their low charge/discharge efficiency.