A battery electrode for a lithium ion battery that includes an electrically conductive substrate having an electrode layer applied thereto. The electrode layer includes an organic material having high alkalinity, or an organic material which can be dissolved in organic solvents, or an organic material having an imide group(s) and aminoacetal group(s), or an organic material that chelates with or bonds with a metal substrate or that chelates with or bonds with an active material in the electrode layer. The organic material may be guanidine carbonate.