Hierarchical Phosphorus–Carbon Microarchitectures for Robust and Secure Lithium-Ion Storage

Phosphorus-carbon composites show promise as high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes but present inherent challenges related to uneven hybridization, poor electrochemical interfaces, and flammability during repeated alloying/dealloying. Here, we propose a countermeasure of hierarchical phosphor-carbon (h-PC) microarchitectures to overcome the aforementioned obstacles. The micromesopores, highly hybridized composites, and enhanced conductivity facilitate accelerated lithium-ion kinetics and robust properties of h-PC, featuring a high-rate capacity of 1040 mAh g^-1 @ 10 A g^-1 and persistent stability for 1000 cycles of 5 A g^-1. The full-cell comprising an h-PC anode and a lithium iron phosphate cathode exhibits a capacity-retention of 98% after 150 cycles. In conjunction with security from hierarchical microarchitectures, the h-PC possesses potential as a robust and secure anode in a commercial setting.