Chemical bonding black phosphorus with TiO₂ and carbon toward high-performance lithium storage

Abstract

Phosphorus (P)-based materials are recognized as one type of prospective candidate anodes due to its high theoretical capacities. However, it still suffers the relatively low structural stability and rate performance. In the present work, an amorphous ternary black Phosphorus (BP)- Titanium dioxide (TiO2)- Carbon (C) nanocomposite is fabricated by a facile ball milling process, which can serve as a prospective alternative for advanced anode material of Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB). We find that the introduction of TiO2 can effectively improve the conductivities of electron and lithium ion, the electrode reaction kinetics, and stabilize the structural integrity of the active material. What's more, the strong Ti–O–P bonds, forming among TiO2 and BP, can further improve the utilization of active material and the transfer of interfacial electron. As a result, the BP-TiO2-C composite exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, involving high specific capacity, excellent rate performance (a reversible capacity of 947.4 mA h g−1 at 7.0 A g−1), and stable cycling performance (a capacity of 935.8 mA h g−1 after 300 cycles at 2 A g−1 with 85.3% retention ratio). Furthermore, when this nanocomposite is assembled with LiCoO2 cathode to build a full cell, it can also denote an excellent specific capacity, stable cycling performance and rate performance.