One-Step Construction of N,P-Codoped Porous Carbon Sheets/CoP Hybrids with Enhanced Lithium and Potassium Storage

Despite the desirable advancement in synthesizing transition-metal phosphides (TMPs)-based hybrid structures, most methods depend on foreign-template-based multistep procedures for tailoring the specific structure. Herein, a self-template and recrystallization-self-assembly strategy for the one-step synthesis of core-shell-like cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanoparticles embedded into nitrogen and phosphorus codoped porous carbon sheets (CoP subset of NPPCS), is first proposed. Relying on the unusual coordination ability of melamine with metal ions and the cooperative hydrogen bonding of melamine and phytic acid to form a 2D network, a self-synthesized single precursor can be attained. Importantly, this approach can be easily expanded to synthesize other TMPs subset of NPPCS. Due to the unique compositional and structural characteristics, these CoP subset of NPPCSs manifest outstanding electrochemical performances as anode materials for both lithium- and potassium-ion batteries. The unusual hybrid architecture, the high specific surface area, and porous features make the CoP subset of NPPCS attractive for other potential applications, such as supercapacitors and electrocatalysis.