Tetragonal Zinc Diphosphide and Its Nanocomposite as an Anode for Lithium Secondary Batteries

• Published in: Chemistry of materials Vol. 20; no. 20; pp. 6319 - 6324
• Main Authors: Park, Cheol-Min, Sohn, Hun-Joon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 28-10-2008
• Subjects: Composites (including Ceramic Composites, Polymer Composites, and Nanocomposites); Electrochemistry
• ISSN: 0897-4756; 1520-5002
• DOI: 10.1021/cm800632f

Tetragonal zinc diphosphide (ZnP2) and its nanocomposite (ZnP2/C) were prepared using commercially available amorphous red phosphorus and zinc powder by high energy mechanical milling (HEMM) at ambient temperature and pressure. The ZnP2/C nanocomposite was composed of uniformly distributed, nanosized, ZnP2 crystallites in the amorphous carbon matrix, as confirmed with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) analyses. The electrochemical reaction mechanism of the ZnP2/C nanocomposite with lithium was investigated during the first cycle. Electrochemical tests showed that the ZnP2/C nanocomposite exhibited enhanced electrochemical reversibility, good cyclability, and high-rate capability when cycled between 0.55 and 2 V.