Black phosphorus stabilized by titanium disulfide and graphite via chemical bonds for high-performance lithium storage

Black phosphorus (BP) anode has received extensive attentions for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity (2596 mAh g−1) and superior electronic conductivity (≈102 S m−1). However, the enormous volume variations during lithiation/delitiation processes greatly limit its applications. Herein, a new BP-titanium disulfide-graphite (BP-TiS2-G) nanocomposite composed of BP, titanium disulfide and graphite has been prepared by a facile and scalable high-energy ball milling method. The experimental data proves that PC and PS bonds have been successfully introduced at the interface, which can effectively maintain the structural integrity of the BP-TiS2-G electrode when evaluated as an anode material for LIBs. In addition, lithium-ion diffusion kinetics have been demonstrated to be enhanced from the synergistic effect of PC and PS bonds. As a result, the BP-TiS2-G anode shows outstanding cycling stability (906.2 mAh g−1 after 1300 cycles at 1.0 A g−1) and superior rate performance (313.8 mAh g−1 at 10.0 A g−1). Our work shows the synergistic effects of different chemical bonds to stabilize BP can be a potential strategy for the development of high-performance alloy-type anodes for rechargeable batteries.