Recent progress in phosphorus based anode materials for lithium/sodium ion batteries

Phosphorus has aroused growing concern as a promising anode material for both lithium and sodium ion batteries, owning to its high theoretical capacity and appropriately low redox potential. However, the poor electronic conductivity and large volume expansion of phosphorus during cycling lead to low electrochemical activity and unstable cyclability, which limits its practical application. Recently, various nanostructured phosphorus based anodes, which efficiently restrained the pulverization and supplied faster reaction kinetics, have been developed to solve these issues. This review aims to summarize the major progress of nanostructured phosphorus based electrode materials for lithium/sodium ion batteries. We first examine the most widely-used design strategy of compositing phosphorus with various carbon materials, ranging from 0D particles, 1D tubes or fibers, 2D sheets to 3D frameworks. And then, the progress of various metal phosphides and their composites is discussed, which mainly include Sn-P phosphides, Ni-P phosphides, Cu-P phosphides, Fe-P phosphides, Co-P phosphides, etc., and their composites. This is followed by a comparison of different compositing methods, which involve in preparing phosphorus-carbon composites and nanostructured metal phosphides or their composites. Finally, the challenges and perspectives regarding the phosphorus based anode materials are proposed.