Electrochemical performance of natural Brazilian graphite as anode material for lithium-ion rechargeable cells

The properties of natural Brazilian graphite have been investigated in a three-electrode laboratory button cell containing 1 M LiPF6 dissolved in ethylene carbonate-dimethyl carbonate (EC-DMC) as the electrolyte. The charge/discharge behaviour of the graphite is greatly affected by the preliminary treatments and techniques used for the preparation of the electrode. By optimizing these procedures, a specific capacity very close to the theoretical value can obtained. When using LiPF6/EC-DMC electrolyte, a high charge/discharge coulombic efficiency is observed.