Facile phosphorus-embedding into SnS2 using a high-energy ball mill to improve the surface kinetics of P-SnS2 anodes for a Li-ion battery

Herein, we study the effects of phosphorus-embedding on the surface morphology, surface chemical/electrical microstructure, and electrochemical performance of tin sulfides anodes fabricated by a high-energy ball mill method (HEBM) for lithium-ion battery (LiB). Specifically, phosphorus-embedding into SnS₂ enlarges the lattice spacing of the major phases of tin phosphides, which facilitates lithiation and delithiation on the surface. The tin phosphorus sulfide anodes show higher electrochemical LiB performances than a pristine SnS₂ electrode. Among the four SnP_nS₂ (n = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8) anodes, the SnP_0.6S₂ anode exhibits the highest discharge capacity of 404 mAh g⁻¹ at the 200th cycle (@ 500 mA g⁻¹) and capacity retention of 84% after 200 cycles.