Ambient Temperature Graphitization Based on Mechanochemical Synthesis

Abstract

AbstractGraphite has become a critical material because of its high supply risk and essential applications in energy industries. Its present synthesis still relies on an energy‐intensive thermal treatment pathway (Acheson process) at about 3000 °C. Herein, a mechanochemical approach is demonstrated to afford highly crystalline graphite nanosheets at ambient temperature. The key to the success of our methodology lies in the successive decomposition and rearrangement of a carbon nitride framework driven by a denitriding reaction in the presence of magnesium. The afforded graphite features high crystallinity, a high degree of graphitization, a thin nanosheet architecture, and a small flake size, which endow it with superior efficiency in lithium‐ion batteries as an anode material in terms of rate capacity and cycle stability. The mild and cost‐effective pathway used in this study could be a promising alternative for graphite production.