Achieving Fast and Durable Lithium Storage through Amorphous FeP Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Ultrathin 3D P-Doped Porous Carbon Nanosheets

Abstract

Conversion-type transition-metal phosphide anode materials with high theoretical capacity usually suffer from low-rate capability and severe capacity decay, which are mainly caused by their inferior electronic conductivities and large volumetric variations together with the poor reversibility of discharge product (Li₃P), impeding their practical applications. Herein, guided by density functional theory calculations, these obstacles are simultaneously mitigated by confining amorphous FeP nanoparticles into ultrathin 3D interconnected P-doped porous carbon nanosheets (denoted as FeP@CNs) <i>via</i> a facile approach, forming an intriguing 3D flake-CNs-like configuration. As an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the resulting FeP@CNs electrode not only reaches a high reversible capacity (837 mA h g^-1 after 300 cycles at 0.2 A g^-1) and an exceptional rate capability (403 mA h g^-1 at 16 A g^-1) but also exhibits extraordinary durability (2500 cycles, 563 mA h g^-1 at 4 A g^-1, 98% capacity retention). By combining DFT calculations, <i>in situ</i> transmission electron microscopy, and a suite of <i>ex situ</i> microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, we show that the superior performances of FeP@CNs anode originate from its prominent structural and compositional merits, which render fast electron/ion-transport kinetics and abundant active sites (amorphous FeP nanoparticles and structural defects in P-doped CNs) for charge storage, promote the reversibility of conversion reactions, and buffer the volume variations while preventing pulverization/aggregation of FeP during cycling, thus enabling a high rate and highly durable lithium storage. Furthermore, a full cell composed of the prelithiated FeP@CNs anode and commercial LiFePO₄ cathode exhibits impressive rate performance while maintaining superior cycling stability. This work fundamentally and experimentally presents a facile and effective structural engineering strategy for markedly improving the performance of conversion-type anodes for advanced LIBs.