Coal-derived synthetic graphite with high specific capacity and excellent cyclic stability as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

•The anthracite-based graphite demonstrates comparable performance to that of commercial graphite.•Taking B2O3 as additive in graphitization process implies the unique catalytic mechanism.•The graphite delivers high capacity of 369 mA h g−1 at 0.05C and superior retention of 98% at 0.5C.