A Tunable Molten-Salt Route for Scalable Synthesis of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Nanosheets as High-Performance Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Amorphous carbon is regarded as a promising alternative to commercial graphite as the lithium-ion battery anode due to its capability to reversibly store more lithium ions. However, the structural disorder with a large number of defects can lead to low electrical conductivity of the amorphous carbon, thus limiting its application for high power output. Herein, ultrathin amorphous carbon nanosheets were prepared from petroleum asphalt through tuning the carbonization temperature in a molten-salt medium. The amorphous nanostructure with expanded carbon interlayer spacing can provide substantial active sites for lithium storage, while the two-dimensional (2D) morphology can facilitate fast electrical conductivity. As a result, the electrodes deliver a high reversible capacity, outstanding rate capability, and superior cycling performance (579 and 396 mAh g –1 at 2 and 5 A g –1 after 900 cycles). Furthermore, full cells consisting of the carbon anodes coupled with LiMn 2 O 4 cathodes exhibit high specific capacity (608 mAh g –1 at 50 mA g –1 ) and impressive cycling stability with slow capacity loss (0.16% per cycle at 200 mA g –1 ). The present study not only paves the way for industrial-scale synthesis of advanced carbon materials for lithium-ion batteries but also deepens the fundamental understanding of the intrinsic mechanism of the molten-salt method.