Abstract Highly crystalline graphite powder was prepared from the low temperature (800–1000 °C) graphitization of renewable materials using a magnesium catalyst. The magnesium catalyst was easily removed, resulting in a highly pure graphite product. The graphite has an interesting microstructure, consisting of mainly hexagonal platelets (up to 10 μm), and some graphene particles. This unique microstructure results in a high specific surface area. However, the graphite has a high density and a degree of graphitization higher than some conventional artificial graphites made at 2850 °C. When cycled in Li half-cells, the graphite displays good cycling stability and high reversible capacity (up to 370 mAh g−1). After carbon coating, the surface area of the graphite is greatly reduced, and its coulombic efficiency is greatly improved, resulting in performance that is comparable to commercial high surface area battery synthetic graphites. Graphite made by low temperature Mg catalyzation of renewable plant derived precursors represents a new direction for research in the development of primary synthetic graphites and the application of sustainable materials. We anticipate that Mg catalyzed graphites could have interesting applications in batteries, as catalyst supports or in other fields.

中文翻译：

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六方片状石墨及其在锂离子电池中的应用

摘要 使用镁催化剂对可再生材料进行低温 (800–1000 °C) 石墨化制备高结晶石墨粉。镁催化剂很容易去除，产生高纯度的石墨产品。石墨具有有趣的微观结构，主要由六边形小片（最大 10 μm）和一些石墨烯颗粒组成。这种独特的微观结构导致高比表面积。然而，石墨具有高密度和石墨化程度高于一些在 2850°C 下制成的常规人造石墨。当在锂半电池中循环时，石墨表现出良好的循环稳定性和高可逆容量（高达 370 mAh g-1）。碳涂层后，石墨的表面积大大减少，其库仑效率大大提高，其性能可与商用高表面积电池合成石墨相媲美。通过低温镁催化可再生植物衍生前体制备的石墨代表了初级合成石墨开发和可持续材料应用的研究新方向。我们预计 Mg 催化的石墨可以在电池、催化剂载体或其他领域有有趣的应用。