Characterization and Electrochemical Performance of Bamboo Charcoal

The microstructures of the bamboo charcoal were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The bamboo charcoal mainly presents amorphous carbon structure. Insides the bamboo charcoal, some other elements, such as O, K and Si were detected. Being used for the active anode material of lithium ion battery, the electrochemical insertion / extraction lithium properties of the bamboo charcoal were primarily investigated. The initial capacity of as-prepared bamboo charcoal is about 200 mAh/g. After treated by wiping off element K and ball milling, the initial capacity of the bamboo charcoal is over 400 mAh/g. In the charge-discharge cycle tests, the treated bamboo charcoal showed good charge-discharge efficiency after several cycles.