Designer carbons as potential anodes for lithium secondary batteries

Carbons are the material of choice for lithium secondary battery anodes. Our objective is to use designed synthesis to produce a carbon with a predictable structure. The approach is to pyrolyze aromatic hydrocarbons within a pillared clay. Results from laser desorption mass spectrometry, scanning tunneling microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and small angle neutron scattering suggest that we have prepared disordered, porous sheets of carbon, free of heteroatoms. One of the first demonstrations of template-directed carbon formation was reported by Tomita and co-workers, where polyacrylonitrile was carbonized at 700{degrees}C yielding thin films with relatively low surface areas. More recently, Schwarz has prepared composites using polyfurfuryl alcohol and pillared clays. In the study reported here, aromatic hydrocarbons and polymers which do not contain heteroatoms are being investigated. The alumina pillars in the clay should act as acid sites to promote condensation similar to the Scholl reaction. In addition, these precursors should readily undergo thermal polymerization, such as is observed in the carbonization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons