Surface modification of coordination polymers to enable the construction of CoP/N,P-codoped carbon nanowires towards high-performance lithium storage.

A one-dimensional hybrid with N,P co-doped carbon nanowires threaded CoP nanoparticles is rationally fabricated by employing surface modified coordination polymers as a precursor. Ultrasmall CoP nanoparticlesare well encapsulated in N,P co-doped carbon nanowires, which can effectively buffer the volume expansion of active CoP and facilitate fast lithium-ion/electron transfer during charge/discharge processes. Moreover, N,P co-doped carbon with high defect density and graphitic-N content are obtained, which facilitates high lithium storage capacity and fast electron transfer. As a result, attractive lithium storage properties are gained by employing this unique architecture as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, including high reversible charge/discharge capacities, good rate capability, and excellent long-term cycling stability. Kinetic investigation shows that the fast lithium ion uptake/release is related to the remarkable capacitive contribution. This work may offer an effective way for design well-defined transition metal phosphide-based anodes for advanced lithium-ion batteries.