The cutting-edge phosphorus-rich metal phosphides for energy storage and conversion

The development of cost-efficient and high-performance electrochemical materials is very important to promote clean energy storage and conversion. Very recently, the phosphorus-rich (P-rich) metal phosphides (MPs) emerge as the cutting-edge materials in energy storage and conversion due to their significant advantages for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), sodium ion batteries (SIBs), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and solar cells (SCs). This review summarizes the up-to-date advances of P-rich MPs in energy storage and conversion from typical structures, main synthetic methods and diversified advanced applications. The corresponding electrochemical reaction mechanism, composition/structure designs and desired performance of P-rich MPs are conjointly discussed to deliver an insightful perspective of the theory-composition/structure-performance relationships and reveal the reasons behind the excellent electrochemical performance. At last, several potential challenges and inspiring outlooks are highlighted to serve guidance for the future research and applications of P-rich MPs.