Effect of the Particle-Size Distribution on the Electrochemical Performance of a Red Phosphorus-Carbon Composite Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

ABSTRACT: Red phosphorus (RP) is a promising candidate as an anode for sodium-ion batteries because of its low potential and high specific capacity. It has two main disadvantages. First, it experiences 490% volumetric expansion during sodiation, which leads to particle pulverization and substantial reduction of the cycle life. Second, it has an extremely low electronic conductivity of 10-14 S cm-1. Both issues can be addressed by ball milling RP with a carbon matrix to form a composite of electronically conductive carbon and small RP particles, less susceptible to pulverization. Through this procedure, however, the resulting particle-size distribution of the RP particles is difficult to determine because of the presence of the carbon particles. Here, we quantify the relationship between the RP particle-size distribution and its cycle life for the first time by separating the ball-milling process into two steps. The RP is first wet-milled to reduce the particle size, and then the particle-size distribution is measured via dynamic light scattering. This is followed by a dry-milling step to produce RP-graphite composites. We found that wet milling breaks apart the largest RP particles in the range of 2-10 ?m, decreases the Dv90 from 1.85 to 1.26 ?m, and significantly increases the cycle life of the RP. Photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy confirm the successful formation of a carbon coating, with longer milling times leading to more uniform carbon coatings. The RP with a Dv90 of 0.79 ?m mixed with graphite for 48 h delivered 1354 mA h g-1 with high coulombic efficiency (>99%) and cyclability (88% capacity retention after 100 cycles). These results are an important step in the development of cyclable, high-capacity anodes for sodium-ion batteries.

SUBMITTER: Capone I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7011731 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature