Decorating Phosphorus Anode with SnO₂ Nanoparticles To Enhance Polyphosphides Chemisorption for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Abstract

Phosphorus has been regarded as one of the most promising next-generation lithium-ion battery anode materials, because of its high theoretical specific capacity and safe working potential. However, the shuttle effect and sluggish conversion kinetics hamper its practical application. To overcome these limitations, we decorated SnO₂ nanoparticles at the surface of phosphorus using an electrostatic self-assembly method, in which SnO₂ can participate in the discharge/charge reaction, and the Li₂O formed can chemically adsorb and suppress the shuttle of soluble polyphosphides across the separator. Additionally, the Sn/Li-Sn alloy can enhance the electrical conductivity of the overall electrode. Meanwhile, the similar volume changes and simultaneous lithiation/delithiation process in phosphorus and SnO₂/Sn are beneficial for avoiding additional particle damage near two-phase boundaries. Consequently, this hybrid anode exhibits a high reversible capacity of ∼1180.4 mAh g^-1 after 120 cycles and superior high-rate performance with ∼78.5% capacity retention from 100 to 1000 mA g^-1.