Carbon anodes prepared from graphite particles pretreated in a gelatine solution

A new procedure for carbon anode preparation is described. First, carbon (graphite) particles are pretreated in an aqueous solution of gelatine. Then, the slurry is directly pressed on the copper substrate without addition of a special binder. It is shown that such anodes have lower irreversible loss (13-16%) than the classically prepared anodes. Efficiency reaches values close to 100% at latest in the third cycle. Reversible capacity can be as high as 340 mA h g(-1). Stability of the new anodes up to 20 cycles is satisfactory only at higher concentrations of gelatine solution used in the pretreatment. Optimization of the new anode is a subject of further investigation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.