Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for Red Phosphorous Based Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Red phosphorus is a promising anode material for high-capacity lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries.
• Carbon matrices serve as conductive and stress-buffering supports for red phosphorus.
• Enhancing the interface interaction between red phosphorus and the carbon matrix is crucial for improving battery performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of nitrogen doping on the interface interaction between red phosphorus and carbon.
• To develop a high-performance red phosphorus-based anode material for advanced batteries.
• To provide insights into the interface mechanisms in composite electrode materials.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of red phosphorus/nitrogen-doped carbon (RPNC) and red phosphorus/carbon (RPC) composites.
• X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to analyze interface interactions.
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations to reveal adsorption mechanisms.
• Electrochemical testing to evaluate cycling stability and capacity.

Main Results:

• Nitrogen doping significantly reduces the adsorption energy between phosphorus and carbon's oxygen-containing functional groups.
• RPNC composite exhibits enhanced cycling stability and higher capacity compared to RPC.
• RPNC maintains a discharge capacity of 1453 mAh g^-1 after 100 cycles at 300 mA g^-1.
• RPNC delivers a capacity of 1178 mAh g^-1 even at a high current density of 1200 mA g^-1.

Conclusions:

• Nitrogen doping is an effective strategy to enhance the interface interaction in red phosphorus/carbon composites.
• The developed RPNC material demonstrates superior electrochemical performance for battery anodes.
• This work offers valuable insights into interface engineering for high-performance phosphorus-based anode materials.