Development of Coal-Derived Graphite for Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems

Le résumé fourni par la source

The increasing demand for energy storage systems such as Li-ion batteries requires an increasing supply of critical minerals such as graphite. Graphite is the predominant anode material due to its high theoretical capacity, electrochemical stability and long cycle life. In an effort to develop sustainable supply chains to meet the increasing demand, alternative carbon feedstocks for synthetic graphite are needed. One emerging feedstock is coal, owing to its abundance and cost. A comprehensive study of several coal-derived graphites synthesized from anthracite, bituminous and coal pitch will be presented in this work. Material properties such as BET surface area, morphology and microstructure are examined through SEM imaging, XRD and RAMAN spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance in half cells such as initial capacity loss and gravimetric capacity will be presented for all of the coal-derived graphites investigated. Single layer pouch cell data will be discussed for selected materials and compared to a commercial MesoCarbon, MicroBead (MCMB) graphite. The White Forest bituminous coal shows the most promise as a feedstock for synthetic graphite production. It has been demonstrated that this material has comparable performance to the MCMB graphite used in this study and has superior capacity retention. Commentary will also be provided on the future steps needed to optimize the coal-derived graphites presented in this work.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.