Chemical and electrochemical intercalation of lithium into boronated carbons

Abstract

Boron-substituted carbons have been produced by chemical vapour deposition from acetylene and boron trichloride precursors at 1140°C. Li intercalation was investigated, chemically from the Li vapour and electrochemically in Li–carbon cells. In both cases, the amount of intercalated Li increases with the boron content of the carbon, up to a value of 13 at.% boron. Above this value, the intercalation of lithium is not so efficient. This behaviour is understood by assuming that boron, which acts as an electron acceptor and hence favours the intercalation of electron donors like lithium, can enter substitutionally into the carbon lattice up to a certain limit, which is close to 13 at.% for the materials deposited at 1140°C.