Enhanced electrochemical lithium storage by graphene nanoribbons

Abstract

Herein, we report the electrochemical Li intake capacity of carbonaceous one-dimensional graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) obtained by unzipping pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). We have found that nanotubes with diameters of approximately 50 nm present a smaller reversible capacity than conventional mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) powder. Reduced GNRs improve the capacity only marginally over the MCMB reference but present a lower Coulombic efficiency as well as a higher capacity loss per cycle. Oxidized GNRs (ox-GNRs) outperform all of the other materials studied here in terms of energy density. They present a first charge capacity of approximately 1400 mA h g(-1) with a low Coulombic efficiency for the first cycle (approximately 53%). The reversible capacity of ox-GNRs is in the range of 800 mA h g(-1), with a capacity loss per cycle of approximately 3% for early cycles and a decreasing loss rate for subsequent cycles.