Hierarchical NiCoP/C Hollow Nanoflowers for Enhanced Lithium Storage

Multidimensional morphologies of double-metal phosphides prominently can enrich the patterns of electron transport and charge storage. Here, we report a facile encapsulation strategy with one acetylenic carbon-rich polymer to prepare carbon-coated NiCoP (NCP) hollow nanoflowers. First, the hierarchical NiCo hydroxide hollow nanoflowers are constructed and encapsulated by soluble poly(1,3-diethynylbenzene) (PAB) through a simple procedure. In the following temperature-programmed route, the carbon-rich PAB (96.75 wt %) will instantaneously form into continuous and dense conductive network with low gas release at a lower temperature, which will effectively improve the electronic conductivity and structural stability of active materials. As the anode for lithium-ion batteries, these hierarchical NCP@PAB-C hollow nanoflowers exhibit a high reversible discharge capacity of 819.4 mAh g–1 at 200 mA g–1 and good long-term cyclability over 500 cycles at 1000 mA g–1 with no capacity decay.