Red phosphorus encapsulated in porous carbon derived from cigarette filter solid waste as a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Red phosphorus (RP) is considered to be one of the promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) on account of its high theoretical capacity (2596 mAh g−1), abundant resources, and environmental friendliness. However, the intrinsic insulating nature and large volume change during lithium insertion/extraction process lead to drastic capacity loss upon cycling. Recently, great attention has been devoted to constructing P-based composites via mixing with carbon materials. Here, a novel P/C composite, in which red P nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed in cigarette filter-derived porous carbon (CPC), was fabricated by vaporization-condensation method. Due to the unique characteristics of porous carbon, including high specific area, good conductivity, and rich internal porous structure, CPC obtained by means of heat treatment that serves as conductive matrix to load red P could be of great benefits, which can not only improve the overall electrical conductivity but also mitigate the volume expansion issues. As a result, the RP/CPC composite as an anode material for LIBs delivers a good cycling stability (500 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 with a high Coulombic efficiency above 99% after 50 cycles) and rate capability (355 mAh g−1 even at 1000 mA g−1).