Crystal Phase-Controlled Synthesis of the CoP@Co2P Heterostructure with 3D Nanowire Networks for High-Performance Li-Ion Capacitor Applications

The paramount focus in the construction of lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) is the development of anode materials with high reversible capacity and fast kinetics to overcome the mismatch of kinetics and capacity between the anode and cathode. Herein, a strategy is presented for the controllable synthesis of cobalt-based phosphides with various morphologies by adjusting the time of the phosphidation process, including 3D hierarchical needle-stacked diabolo-shaped CoP nanorods, 3D hierarchical stick-stacked diabolo-shaped Co2P nanorods, and 3D hierarchical heterostructure CoP@Co2P nanorods. 3D hierarchical nanostructures and a highly conductive project to accommodate volume changes are rational designs to achieve a robust construction, effective electron-ion transportation, and rapid kinetics characteristics, thus leading to excellent cycling stability and rate performance. Owing to these merits, the 3D hierarchical CoP, Co2P, and CoP@Co2P nanorods demonstrate prominent specific capacities of 573, 609, and 621 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 over 300 cycles, respectively. In addition, a high-performance CoP@Co2P//AC LIC is successfully constructed, which can achieve high energy densities of 166.2 and 36 W h kg-1 at power densities of 175 and 17524 W kg-1 (83.7% capacity retention after 12000 cycles). Therefore, the controllable synthesis of various simultaneously constructed crystalline phases and morphologies can be used to fabricate other advanced energy storage devices.