Graphitization heat treatment of a precursor carbon black was seen to effectively produce a wide variety of forms of partially graphitized nano-sized carbonaceous materials with a set of unique properties, some of which are reported in this paper in comparison with those properties of the precursor carbon material. These novel materials were given the name of PUREBLACK (R) Carbons. Among some of the unique properties are: higher conductivity than that of acetylene type carbon blacks due to PUREBLACK (R) Carbon's particles having more graphitic structure; very low to zero volatile content (external oxygen, sulfur, etc., groups, which are often believed to be the cause of initiation of self-discharge reactions in batteries); very low equilibrium moisture pickup (20 ppm level), which makes it particularly attractive in lithium metal or lithium-ion based electrochemical systems; high purity. Electrochemical testing of the newly proposed PUREBLACK (R) Carbons in several battery systems offers significant promise that it presents a viable solution to the needs of industry. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.