Exploring
electrochemically chapped graphite/graphene composites
derived from the bulk carbon rod of the spent Zn/carbon primary cell
is for the advanced high-capacity lithium-ion battery anode. It is
found that the synthesized graphitic carbon has grain boundary defects
with multilayered exfoliation. Such material exhibits an average specific
capacity of 458 mA h g–1 at 0.2 C, which is higher
than the theoretical specific capacity (372 mA h g–1) of graphite. The differential specific capacity calculations also
show no significant difference in lithiation and delithiation potentials
for the exfoliated sample at the low voltage. However, two additional
plateaus have also been observed at ∼1.2 and 2.5 V, which confirms
the formation of the LiC3 phase similar to lithiation of
graphene. Hence, the superior lithiation ability and thecycling stability
of defected graphite/graphene flakes may be useful for the sustainable
development of next-generation high energy lithium-ion batteries.
Also, waste recovery tends to reduce the risk of environmental pollution
and the cost of raw materials.