Vapor Deposition Red Phosphorus to Prepare Nitrogen-Doped Ti₃C₂T_x MXenes Composites for Lithium-Ion Batteries

MXenes have great application prospect in energy storage fields due to a series of special physicochemical properties. However, the application of MXenes is greatly limited due to low intrinsic capacity. Here, through spray drying and vapor deposition methods, N-doped Ti₃C₂T_x and phosphorus composites (N–Ti₃C₂T_x/P) were prepared for the first time. The red phosphorus particles were absorbed to a walnut-like N–Ti₃C₂T_x matrix, facilitating the transport of Li⁺ and electrons. When used as anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the battery can cycle up to 1040 cycles with a high stable capacity of 801 mAh/g at 500 mA/g. Impressively, there is an obvious increase of capacity in the subsequent cycles at higher current density due to the increment of interlayer spacing of Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets. XPS measurements confirm that the Ti–O–P bond was formed in the composites, granting the robust structure of the composites and leading to superior performances during cycling. The facile synthesis method of red phosphorus by vapor deposition will facilitate the development of other 2D materials combined with high-capacity red phosphorus for energy storage.