Fabricating and probing additive-free electrophoretic-deposited black phosphorus nanoflake anode for lithium-ion battery applications

Abstract

.We, for the first time, report fabrication of additive-free black phosphorous (BP) Li-ion battery without conductive agents and binders in which BP nanoflakes in solution are deposited using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Addition of NaOH in pure 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) solution containing BP nanoflakes facilitates the formation of smaller BP nanoflakes from bulk crystals allowing for the use as a battery anode. A remarkable increase in the initial discharging capacity from 91 to 954 mAh/g through simple treatments including the addition of NaOH followed by thermal annealing results from initiation of the multistep reactions associated with the formation of LiP, Li2P, and Li3P. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.