Understanding of the capacity contribution of carbon in phosphorus-carbon composites for high-performance anodes in lithium ion batteries

Phosphorus has recently received extensive attention as a promising anode for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity of 2,596 mAh·g-1.To develop high-performance phosphorus anodes for LIBs,carbon materials have been hybridized with phosphorus (P-C) to improve dispersion and conductivity.However,the specific capacity,rate capability,and cycling stability of P-C anodes are still less than satisfactory for practical applications.Furthermore,the exact effects of the carbon support on the electrochemical performance of the P-C anodes are not fully understood.Herein,a series of xP-yC anode materials for LIBs were prepared by a simple and efficient ball-milling method.6P-4C and 3P-7C were found to be optimum mass ratios of x/y,and delivered initial discharge capacities of 1,803.5 and 1,585.3.mAh.g-1,respectively,at 0.1 C in the voltage range 0.02-2 V,with an initial capacity retention of 68.3％ over 200 cycles (more than 4 months cycling life) and 40.8％ over 450 cycles.The excellent electrochemical performance of the 6P-4C and 3P-7C samples was attributed to a synergistic effect from both the adsorbed P and carbon.