Shuttle-like carbon-coated FeP derived from metal-organic frameworks for lithium-ion batteries with superior rate capability and long-life cycling performance

Pursuing active, stable, low-cost and well-designed electrode materials with superior rate capability and long-life cycling performance for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) remains a big challenge. In this work, shuttle-like hollow and porous carbon-coated FeP (FeP@C) structures were synthesized from Fe-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) MIL-88 as precursors and used as anodes for LIBs. The FeP@C displays a unique structure with ultrafine FeP nanoparticles distributed in the hollow and porous carbon matrix, which offers large specific surface area and fast charge transfer ability, and alleviates volume change during cycling. As a result, the FeP@C delivers a high maximum lithium storage capacity (902.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ for 100 cycles), superior rate capability (reversible capacity of 416 mAh g⁻¹ at 5.0 A g⁻¹) and long-life cycling performance (3000 cycles at 5.0 A g⁻¹). The excellent electrochemical performance is related to significant contribution of pseudocapacitive behavior during charge/discharge process, especially at high current density. The current strategy should be promising to synthesize the carbon-coated porous structure from MOFs for next-generation energy-storage application.