Electrochemical Intercalation of Lithium into Carbon Materials

Abstract

Abstract The electrochemical synthesis of unsolvated Li+−graphite intercalation compounds (GIC's) has been carried out using oriented pyrographite and a liquid ethylene carbonate based electrolyte. Different pure intercalation stages have been isolated and characterized by in situ 001 X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments performed during the electrochemical intercalation process. Determination of the in-plane organization of the intercalated species in selected phases has been carried out using hkO XRD studies. The richest compound of golden colour is similar to the stage I LiC6 compound obtained by direct reaction of lithium with graphite. Galvanostatic charge and discharge curves exhibiting voltage slopes and plateaus are discussed as regards to the phases identified by XRD analyses. Finally, the effects of the current density on the kinetics of the intercalation and deintercalation are discussed.