The influence of heterosubstitution on carbon foams characteristics as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Undoped and nitrogen-doped carbon foams (CF) were synthesized by CVD via pyrolysis of hexane or acetonitrile over an Ni template. Undoped CF was also post-doped with nitrogen by hydrothermal treatment with ammonia solution. All samples were analyzed by scanning and transmission electronic microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and XPS. CVD-doped CF showed higher defectiveness than the undoped CF because of the deformation of carbon layers, while post-doped CF predominantly contained nitrogen species on its surface. These differences in the structure and composition of the foams strongly affect the electrochemical characteristics of lithium-ion battery anodes produced from these materials.