Regulating the electronic structure of CoP nanoflowers by molybdenum incorporation for enhanced lithium and sodium storage

Developing novel anode materials with highly efficient and earth-abundant for electrochemical energy storage are vitally paramount, but extremely challenging for the enhancement of alkali ions storage performance. Herein, the rational design of bimetallic Co1-xMoxP encapsulated within nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (Co1xMoxP/NC) is proposed and explored as anodes for lithium/sodium-ion batteries. Benefiting from the atom-level coordination induced hybrid composites with electronic structure modification and unique nanostructure, the asprepared Co0.7Mo0.3P/NC obtained by tuning the optimized atom ratio demonstrates superior rate performance and high cycling stability. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation indicates that the improved performance is attributed the optimized electronic structure and enriched density of Fermi energy center. This work not only provides basis for electronic structure engineering from the well-designed metal phosphides, but also opens up a novel avenue for developing advanced electrodes in various electrochemical applications.

Automated summary

In this study, a rational design of bimetallic Co1-xMoxP encapsulated within a nitrogen-doped carbon matrix was proposed as an anode for lithium/sodium-ion batteries, showing superior rate performance and high cycling stability. The improved performance was attributed to optimized electronic structure and enriched density of Fermi energy center, providing a basis for electronic structure engineering and development of advanced electrodes in various electrochemical applications.