CMI Project 1.2.12: Low-temperature electrochemical synthesis of graphite

News & Highlights

Low-temperature electrochemical graphitization of coconut waste-derived carbon into high-quality flake graphite suitable for EV applications.

Low-cost graphitization extended to biomass carbon

SEM image of hard carbon after electrochemical treatment

Dramatic energy savings result from new molten-salt method for graphite synthesis

Sheng Dai at Oak Ridge National Laboratory leads the CMI project "Low-temperature electrochemical synthesis of graphite"

Project Description: To further investigate a recently developed process for the graphitization of amorphous carbon. Current graphitization technology is a very energy intensive process, requiring temperatures reaching 3000 C and taking up to three weeks for synthesis. Our technology requires a significantly lower temperatures of 800 to 900 C. This is achieved via the cathodic polarization of amorphous carbon in molten salts for only two hours. This technology has the potential to reduce the energy intensity of graphite synthesis significantly. Further, traditionally non-graphitizable hard carbons can be graphitized using this technology, enabling diversification in input feedstock including bio-derived sources of carbon.