Sustainable and affordable energy resources are urgently demanded to mitigate environmental issues. Herein, carbon materials, prepared by electrochemical reduction of greenhouse gas, CO2, in Li-Na-K carbonate molten salts (electrolytic-carbon), are tested as negative electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. Owing to the small particle size and suitable surface area, the electrolytic-carbon exhibits a high reversible capacity of 798 mAh g(-1) (more than two times of graphites' theoretical capacity) at 50 mA g(-1) and 266 mAh g(-1) with a stable cyclability over 500 cycles at a current density up to 500 mA g(-1), as well as remarkable rate performance. Furthermore, a comprehensively study was conducted to investigate the effects of electrolysis temperature and cell voltage on the electrochemical performance of the electrolytic-carbon. These results demonstrate a promising strategy to develop renewable high-performance carbon negative electrode materials for Li-ion batteries by molten salt capture and electrochemical reduction of CO2. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.