Lithium intercalation in porous carbon anodes

Carbon foams derived from the phase separation of polyacrylonitrile/solvent mixtures were investigated as lithium intercalation anodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The carbon foams have a bulk density of 0.35--0.5 g/cm{sup 3}, low surface area (< 50 m{sup 2}/g), and an average cell size of 5--10 {mu}m. Polyacrylonitrile-based carbon foams doped with phosphoric acid had capacity as high as 450 mAh/g. Carbon capacity increased with increasing phosphoric acid concentration in the doping solution. The doped porous carbon anodes exhibited good cyclability and excellent coulombic efficiency