Thin copper phosphide films as conversion anode for lithium-ion battery applications Chandrasekar, M. S. [Electrochemical Energy Laboratory, Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076 (India)]; Mitra, Sagar [Electrochemical Energy Laboratory, Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076 (India)] 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; ANODES; CONGLOMERATES; COPPER; COPPER PHOSPHIDES; DEPOSITS; ELECTRIC BATTERIES; ELECTRODEPOSITION; ENERGY DENSITY; ENERGY STORAGE; HYBRIDIZATION; LITHIUM IONS; MICROSTRUCTURE; OXIDATION; PHOSPHORUS; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SOLIDS; X-RAY DIFFRACTION Air stable copper phosphide of thicknesses (0.2, 0.4 μm) was synthesized over copper plates (of 10 mm diameter) by hybrid electrochemical deposition and low temperature solid-state reaction. Stoichiometric amount of red phosphorus (P) were sprayed over electrodeposited copper and followed by annealing at 250 °C under inert gas atmosphere for different durations (5 h, 7 h and 12 h). During this process, phosphorus particles diffuse by excavating into the copper deposits, producing holes, where the Cu{sub 3}P crystallites nucleate and lead to conglomeration of several agglomerates and hence resulted in non-homogeneous morphology. A small extend of Cu{sub 3}P oxidation occurs over the film's top surface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirm that the layer to be pure Cu{sub 3}P. Scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) reveals a porous microstructure consisting of agglomerated particles with ∼10 μm size. The as-prepared carbon-free Cu{sub 3}P electrodes exhibited significantly improved capacity retention and rate capability characteristics over 40 cycles when electrochemically tested against lithium at constant 20 μA/cm{sup 2} rendering it as possible negative electrode for high energy density lithium-ion battery (LiB) applications. Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.12.136 United Kingdom 2013-03-01 English Journal Article Journal Name: Electrochimica Acta; Journal Volume: 92; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Medium: X; Size: page(s) 47-54 https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ELECTACTA.2012.12.136 PII: S0013-4686(13)00021-2 [] 92 Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4686; CODEN: ELCAAV; Other: PII: S0013-4686(13)00021-2; TRN: GB14R4056059763 INIS 2014-06-12 22238674