Red phosphorus composite anodes for Li-ion batteries

Thickness changes associated with charging and discharging challenge the practical application of electrodes composed of high-capacity materials towards batteries of both high energy density and long life. The investigation on the electrode level has found that the red phosphorus composite electrodes experience reversible expansion and shrinkage during lithiation/delithiation, except for the first cycle. The reversible thickness changes are acceptable for the practical application, and the thickness change is only 4 mu m, which is about 7% of the total thickness when the capacity density of the electrode is 4.5 mAh cm(-2). 4.5 mAh cm(-2) is the upper limitation of the capacity density for practical Li-ion batteries. The capacity of the electrode material is 800 mAh g(-1) with coulombic efficiency of 99.7%. Such high capacity, high coulombic efficiency, and low electrode thickness change show promise of the red phosphorus composite as a practical anode for lithium-ion batteries. This investigation pushes forward the practical application of red phosphorus composite anodes.