Patent ID: 6294142
Filing Date: 2001-09-25
Classification: C01B,Y02E

Abstract:
A method of making an alkali metal-carbon composition, said method comprisingpreparing a precursor mixture comprising a carbon material including graphite carbon, and one or more alkali metals selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium and potassium in the atomic proportion of one part of said alkali metal to more than twenty-four parts carbon under an atmosphere that is substantially inert to said alkali metal,reacting said precursor mixture under such an atmosphere and at a temperature and pressure to form a precursor product comprising layers of carbon atoms with intercalated alkali metal atoms,treating said precursor product with alcohol to remove any unreacted alkali metal,preparing a second mixture comprising an additional amount of said one or more alkali metals, and said precursor product under an atmosphere that is substantially inert to said alkali metal, the amount of said additional metal being sufficient to reduce the atomic proportion of carbon to alkali metal to a value in the range of six to twenty-four parts carbon, andreacting said second mixture under such an atmosphere to form a reaction product comprising layers of carbon atoms with intercalated alkali metal atoms and further characterized by an absence of x-ray diffraction maxima for said carbon and said alkali metal.