Black Phosphorus as a High-Capacity, High-Capability Negative Electrode for Sodium-Ion Batteries: Investigation of the Electrode/Electrolyte Interface

For a nonaqueous sodium-ion battery (NIB), phosphorus materials have been studied as the highest-capacity negative electrodes. However, the large volume change of phosphorus upon cycling at low voltage causes the formation of new active surfaces and potentially results in electrolyte decomposition at the active surface, which remains one of the major limiting factors for the long cycling life of batteries. In this present study, powerful surface characterization techniques are combined for investigation on the electrode/electrolyte interface of the black phosphorus electrodes with polyacrylate binder to understand the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in alkyl carbonate ester and its evolution during cycling. The hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) analysis suggests that SEI (passive film) consists of mainly inorganic species, which originate from decomposition of electrolyte solvents and additives. The thicker surface layer is formed during cycling in the additive-free electrol...