Self-discharge behavior and its temperature dependence of carbon electrodes in lithium-ion batteries

Self-discharging characteristics of negative electrodes with different carbon materials have been investigated by monitoring the open circuit potential (OCP), the capacity loss and the ac impedance change during the storage at different temperatures. The OCP change with the storage time reflected state-of-charge (SOC), which depended on both the carbon material and the storage temperature. Higher specific surface area of the material and higher storage temperature lead to higher self-discharging rate. The activation energy for self-discharging was estimated from the temperature dependence of the self-discharging rate. Although small difference was observed among the materials, the value of the activation energy suggests that the self-discharging reaction at each electrode is controlled by a diffusion process. Changes in the interfacial resistance with the storage time reflected the growth of so-called Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) at carbon surface. The rate of SEI formation at lower temperature does not depend on the carbon material, but at higher storage temperature the rate on spherical graphite was much higher than those on the other carbon materials.