Heteroatom Doped-Carbon Nanospheres as Anodes in Lithium Ion Batteries

Long cycle performance is a crucial requirement in energy storage devices. New formulations and/or improvement of "conventional" materials have been investigated in order to achieve this target. Here we explore the performance of a novel type of carbon nanospheres (CNSs) with three heteroatom co-doped (nitrogen, phosphorous and sulfur) and high specific surface area as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The CNSs were obtained from carbonization of highly-crosslinked organo (phosphazene) nanospheres (OPZs) of 300 nm diameter. The OPZs were synthesized via a single and facile step of polycondensation reaction between hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) and 4,4'-sulphonyldiphenol (BPS). The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed a high heteroatom-doping content in the structure of CNSs while the textural evaluation from the N₂ sorption isotherms revealed the presence of micro- and mesopores and a high specific surface area of 875 m²/g. The CNSs anode showed remarkable stability and coulombic efficiency in a long charge-discharge cycling up to 1000 cycles at 1C rate, delivering about 130 mA·h·g^-1. This study represents a step toward smart engineering of inexpensive materials with practical applications for energy devices.