Carbon-metal oxide composite materials and their use in anodes of lithium and sodium ion batteries

Abstract

A carbon-metal oxide composite material comprising: (i) carbon-carbon composite particles in which an amorphous carbon black core is bonded to crystalline graphitic carbon shells; and (ii) a metal oxide material bonded with said carbon-carbon composite particles, wherein said metal oxide material is included in an amount of at least about 10 wt. % by weight of said carbon-carbon composite particles and metal oxide material. Alkali-ion batteries containing the above-described composite as anode are also described. Methods for producing the above-described composite are also described. The method can include, for example, subjecting pulverized rubber tire waste to a sulfonation process and pyrolyzing the sulfonated rubber to produce the carbon-carbon composite particles, as described above, followed by admixing and compounding a metal oxide material with the carbon-carbon composite particles. The method may alternatively employ a metal oxide precursor, which can be admixed with the sulfonated rubber and converted to metal oxide during pyrolysis.