Si‐based anodes with a stiff diamond structure usually suffer from sluggish lithiation/delithiation reaction due to low Li‐ion and electronic conductivity. Here, a novel ternary compound ZnSi2P3 with a cation‐disordered sphalerite… Click to show full abstract
Si‐based anodes with a stiff diamond structure usually suffer from sluggish lithiation/delithiation reaction due to low Li‐ion and electronic conductivity. Here, a novel ternary compound ZnSi2P3 with a cation‐disordered sphalerite structure, prepared by a facile mechanochemical method, is reported, demonstrating faster Li‐ion and electron transport and greater tolerance to volume change during cycling than the existing Si‐based anodes. A composite electrode consisting of ZnSi2P3 and carbon achieves a high initial Coulombic efficiency (92%) and excellent rate capability (950 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1) while maintaining superior cycling stability (1955 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 300 mA g−1), surpassing the performance of most Si‐ and P‐based anodes ever reported. The remarkable electrochemical performance is attributed to the sphalerite structure that allows fast ion and electron transport and the reversible Li‐storage mechanism involving intercalation and conversion reactions. Moreover, the cation‐disordered sphalerite structure is flexible to ionic substitutions, allowing extension to a family of Zn(Cu)Si2+xP3 solid solution anodes (x = 0, 2, 5, 10) with large capacity, high initial Coulombic efficiency, and tunable working potentials, representing attractive anode candidates for next‐generation, high‐performance, and low‐cost Li‐ion batteries.
               
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