Low-temperature Synthesis of Graphite with Fast Ion Storage Kinetics from Greenhouse Gas for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Conventional graphite synthesis involves CO2 emission and a graphitization process at a high temperature of ~3000°C. Herein, we report a new method to synthesize high-performance graphite anode materials from greenhouse gas CO2 at the external heating temperature as low as 135°C. Transition metal catalysts are not needed for this low-temperature synthesis of graphite. The extreme graphitization temperatures are also not required, compared with the graphite synthesized from petroleum coke-based materials. The graphitization degree of graphite is found to strongly relate to CO2 pressure. Graphite was synthesized under a maximum pressure of 20 MPa while semi-graphited carbon was synthesized under a maximum pressure of 6.3 MPa. The synthesized graphite exhibits superior lithium storage kinetics and excellent cycling stability over 3000 cycles with a capacity retention of ~100% at 1.0 A g−1. This work establishes an integrated sustainable strategy that concurrently addresses greenhouse gas utilization and energy-efficient anode material production.