Carbonaceous materials play a fundamental role in electrochemical
energy storage systems. Carbon in the structural form of graphite is widely
used as the active material in lithium-ion batteries; it is abundant, and
environmentally friendly. Carbon is also used to conduct and distribute
charge effectively throughout composite electrodes of supercapacitors,
batteries and fuel cells. The electronic conductive pathways are critical to
delivering and extracting current out of the device. However, many
challenges and the understanding of the role of carbon and its stability and
efficiency in charge storage applications still exists. This NATO-ARW
volume contains a diverse collection of papers addressing the role of carbon
in some key electrochemical systems, both conventional and emerging.
These papers discuss the latest issues associated with development,
synthesis, characterization and use of new advanced carbonaceous materials
for electrochemical energy storage. Such systems include: metal-air primary
and rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, cathodes and anodes
of lithium-ion and lithium polymer rechargeable batteries, as well as
nanocarbon materials of the future.