Effects of Morphology on the Properties of Carbon Anodes

The morphology of low-temperature carbon prepared from melamine resin and polyacrylonitrile was modified by the introduction of additives which act as setting agents. Measurement of scanning electron micrographs and reversible capacity of the carbon materials as anodes for lithium secondary batteries shows that the obtained graphite-like layer structure with higher regularity favors lithium intercalation. Consequently, the reversible capacity is enhanced, and the enhancement increases with the amount of additives. The effects of macroscopic structure on the electrochemical properties are demonstrated in the charging profiles.