Anode active material including low-defect turbostratic carbon

1. A method of making turbostratic carbon, comprising:

forming a suspension by suspending the turbostratic carbon in a polar liquid solvent;

aerosolizing the suspension; and

drying the aerosolized suspension to force the suspended turbostratic carbon into intimate contact to form a hollow envelope,

wherein the turbostratic carbon comprises:

a D band having a peak intensity (I D ) at wave number between 1330 cm -1 and 1360 cm -1 ;

a G band having a peak intensity (I G ); and

a 2D band having a peak intensity (I 2D ) at wave number between 2650 cm -1 and 2750 cm -1 .

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

a ratio of I D /I G ranges from greater than zero to about 1.1; and

a ratio of I 2D /I G ranges from about 0.4 to about 2.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein:

I G is at a wave number between about 1530 cm -1 and about 1598 cm -1 ;

the ratio of I D /I G ranges from greater than zero to about 0.8; and

the ratio of I 2D /I G ranges from about 0.5 to about 2.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein:

the ratio of I D /I G ranges from 0.3 to 0.7; and

the ratio of I 2D /I G ranges from 0.8 to 1.2.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein:

I D is at wave number of about 1340 cm -1 ;

I G is at wave number ranging from 1580 cm -1 to about 1584 cm -1 ; and

I 2D is at a wave number of about 2700 cm -1 .

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the forming a suspension further comprises suspending an electrochemically active material in the polar liquid solvent; and

the drying the aerosolized suspension further comprises encapsulating the electrochemically active material in the envelope to form a composite particle.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the electrochemically active material is selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon oxide, Sn, Ge, Sb, TiO 2 , ZnO, SnO 2 , Co 3 O 4 , Fe 2 O 3 , MnO 2 , Mn 3 O 4 , MnO, Fe 3 O 4 , MoO 2 , MoO 3 , CuO, Cu 2 O, CeO 2 , RuO 2 , NiO, carbon, a bimetallic material, a multi-metallic material, an oxide material, a sulfide material, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the electrochemically active material comprises SiO x , wherein x ranges from about 0.1 to about 1.3.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the electrochemically active material comprises at least 50 weight percent of a total weight of the composite particles.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein:

the composite particle has a particle size ranging from about 1.0 μm to about 15.0 μm; and

the active material has a particle size ranging from about 50 nm to about 10 μm.

11. The method of claim 6 , further comprising mixing the composite particle and a binder to form an electrode.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the binder comprises polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), poly(acrylic) acid, polyethylenetetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polyamides, and polyimides, polyethylene (UHMW), carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyacrylic acid (PAA), lithium polyacrylic acid (LiPAA), or mixtures thereof.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the electrode further comprises a conductive additive selected from the group consisting of carbon black, carbon nanotubes, an electrically conductive polymer, graphite, a metallic powder, nickel, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, and any combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising placing the electrode into a lithium secondary battery.

15. The method of claim 6 , wherein:

the envelope comprises a crumpled ball structure having at least one of creases, ripples, folds, wrinkles or ridges; and

the envelope comprises layers of the turbostratic carbon that at least partially overlap one another on a surface of each active material particle.

16. A method of making an active material, comprising:

forming a suspension by suspending a turbostratic carbon and an electrochemically active material in a polar liquid solvent;

aerosolizing the suspension; and

drying the aerosolized suspension to form composite particles comprising particles of the active material disposed within envelopes formed of the turbostratic carbon,

wherein the turbostratic carbon comprises:

a D band having a peak intensity (I D ) at wave number between 1330 cm -1 and 1360 cm -1 ;

a G band having a peak intensity (I G ); and

a 2D band having a peak intensity (I 2D ) at wave number between 2650 cm -1 and 2750 cm -1 .

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein each of the envelopes comprises a crumpled ball structure having at least one of creases, ripples, folds, wrinkles or ridges.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the envelopes comprise layers of the turbostratic carbon that at least partially overlap one another on a surface of each active material particle.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein:

a ratio of I D /I G ranges from 0.3 to 0.7; and

a ratio of I 2D /I G ranges from 0.8 to 1.2.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the electrochemically active material comprises SiO x , wherein x ranges from about 0.1 to about 1.3.