Electrochemical Performance of Coal-Based Needle Coke Anode for Lithium Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) with the capability of high energy and high power are considered to be attractive for advanced energy storage applications. However, the design and fabrication of suitable electrode materials with desirab-le properties by a facile approach using cost-effective precursors are still a great challenge. In this work, we have utilized needle cokes, an commercial carbon material with high carbon content and soft carbon structure, as a single carbon source for anode material. A lithium-ion battery fabricated using four kinds of needle cokes exhibits a maximum high energy density of 1357mAhg-1. Systematic characterization analysis demonstrates that unique characteristics of the green coke including large interlayer spacing, turbostratic and disordered microstructures that are composed of surface defects, nanopores or voids, and graphitic domains. That contribute synergistically to the outstanding performance of the needle coke-based LIC. More importantly, anode materials from a single source is an effective way for high value-added utilization of needle coke at the commercial level.