Graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was synthesized using a solid state method and characterized by XRD, FTIR and XPS. The electrochemical properties of the g-C3N4 were studied using both cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge cycling. It was found that the g-C3N4 sample showed certain reversible intercalation capacity of Li＋, but the capacity dropped sharply during the first few cycles. The poor reversibility could be ascribed mainly to the decomposition of C3N4 upon electroreduction. Modification of the g-C3N4 was performed by intercalating a little amount of Mg2＋ and Al3＋ into its interlayer spacing, which made slight improvement on the crystallization and the reversible Li＋ intercalation of the residual g-C3N4.

Key words: graphite-like C3N4, solid-state synthesis, electrochemical property, lithium-ion battery, reversible lithium intercalation