Preparation of Graphite/Nano-Powder Composite Particles and Applicability as Carbon Anode Material in a Lithium Ion Battery

Graphite/nano-powder composite particles, which were prepared by coating nano-sized powder onto the surface of artificial mesophase graphite powder (MGP) in a mechanofusion system, were employed to modify the conventional carbon anode material in a lithium ion battery. The nano-size powder included nickel oxide (NiO) and ferric oxide (Fe2O3). The MGP/nano-powder composite particles were characterized using a scanning electron microscope, a laser particle size analyzer, a BET surface area analyzer and an X-ray powder diffractometer. The charge/discharge capacity of semi-batteries of lithium ion was measured using a battery charge and management system. The percentage of irreversible capacity decreased substantially from 7.98 (semi-battery with MGP carbon anode material) to 0.38% (semi-battery with MGP/nano-Fe2O3 composite particles carbon anode material) in the first round of charge/discharge tests. The maximum charge capacity increased from 288.07 (semi-battery with MGP carbon anode material) to 292.51 mA h/g (semi-battery with MGP/nano-Fe2O3 composite particles carbon anode material).