One-pot synthesis of carbon-coated Ni5P4 nanoparticles and CoP nanorods for high-rate and high-stability lithium-ion batteries

Carbon-coated transition-metal phosphide (TMPs@C) nanocomposites, including Ni5P4@C nanoparticles and CoP@C nanorods, have been fabricated via a simply developed synthetic route from the reaction of organometallic sources with triphenylphosphine (PPh3) in a sealed quartz tube. These nanocomposites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) exhibit excellent rate capability and highly stable cycling performances. Typically, the Ni5P4@C nanoparticles present 612 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.2C, 462 mA h g(-1) after 200 cycles at 1.0C and 424 mA h g(-1) at 5.0C, and the CoP@C nanorods demonstrate 654 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.2C, 530 mA h g(-1) after 200 cycles at 1.0C, and 384 mA h g(-1) at 5.0C, respectively, which would be of great potential in energy storage and conversion.