One of the core components of lithium-ion batteries, the anode’s function is energy storage and release, thereby affecting the cycling performance of the battery. The most commonly used material for anodes is artificial graphite due to its low price, long lifetime, and high storage capacity. China standard GB/T 24533-2019 specifies that the trace-element limit in Grade I artificial graphite used for anodes is < 5 mg/kg, and that the iron and sulfur content must be less than 20 mg/kg, recommending microwave digestion for sample preparation. However, this method is acid-intensive, cumbersome, requires a long digestion time, and is unsuitable for batch samples.
This work presents an alternate sample preparation strategy which uses less acid, simplifies the sample preparation process, and can easily be scaled to accommodate large numbers of samples. The Avio® 220 Max hybrid simultaneous ICP-OES is used to measure 13 elements from both microwave digestion and the alternate sample preparation (sample preparation block leaching) to compare both sample-preparation techniques, demonstrating the advantages of rapid leaching and analysis using the unique capabilities of the Avio 220 Max ICP-OES.