Preparation and electrochemistry of carbon nanofibers and treated graphites

Secondary lithium ion batteries commonly contain a carbon based electrode and a lithiated transition metal oxide based electrode, where electrochemical charging is lithium ion uptake at the carbon electrode. Since their commercial introduction in the 1990s, lithium ion battery research has flourished, however fully understanding the electrochemistry of the carbon electrode has remained an elusive challenge. Notably, many previous studies have been industrially motivated, and designed to optimize carbon performance rather than to fundamentally understand carbon electrochemistry.; Several studies designed to explore carbon structure-function relationships are presented here. Small scale, benchtop techniques were utilized to systematically prepare families of related carbons similar in some aspects and different in others. The novel carbons were then characterized to relate physical and chemical properties to lithium ion battery electrochemistries. Chapter 1 discusses this strategy in more detail.; Chapters 2 and 3 involve novel carbon nanofibers. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of granular and acicular iron particles, and their catalytic use in the formation of carbon nanofibers. Chapter 3 describes further characterization of the carbon nanofibers relative to commercially available synthetic graphite and carbon black, where the potential application of carbon nanofibers for high rate applications is noted.; Chapters 4 and 5 involve novel treatments of synthetic graphite. Chapter 4 describes the heat treatment of synthetic graphite in flowing CO2(g) , where short term aging of CO2 treated graphite was found to have a notable effect on irreversible capacity. Chapter 5 describes heat treatment in flowing Ar(g) to systematically affect particle and crystallite dimensions, where significant effects on irreversible capacity were observed.