Phosphorus has recently received extensive attention as a promising anode for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity of 2, 596 mAh·g^-1. To develop high-performance phosphorus anodes for LIBs, carbon materials have been hybridized with phosphorus (P-C) to improve dispersion and conductivity. However, the specific capacity, rate capability, and cycling stability of P-C anodes are still less than satisfactory for practical applications. Furthermore, the exact effects of the carbon support on the electrochemical performance of the P-C anodes are not fully understood. Herein, a series of xP-yC anode materials for LIBs were prepared by a simple and efficient ball-milling method. 6P-4C and 3P-7C were found to be optimum mass ratios of x/y, and delivered initial discharge capacities of 1, 803.5 and 1, 585.3·mAh·g^-1, respectively, at 0.1 C in the voltage range 0.02-2 V, with an initial capacity retention of 68.3% over 200 cycles (more than 4 months cycling life) and 40.8% over 450 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance of the 6P-4C and 3P-7C samples was attributed to a synergistic effect from both the adsorbed P and carbon.

To commercialize fuel cells and metal-air batteries, cost-effective, highly active catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) must be developed. Herein, we describe the development of low-cost, heteroatom (N, P, Fe) ternary-doped, porous carbons (HDPC). These materials are prepared by one-step pyrolysis of natural tea leaves treated with an iron salt, without any chemical and physical activation. The natural structure of the tea leaves provide a 3D hierarchical porous structure after carbonization. Moreover, heteroatom containing organic compounds in tea leaves act as precursors to functionalize the resultant carbon frameworks. In addition, we found that the polyphenols present in tea leaves act as ligands, reacting with Fe ions to form coordination compounds; these complexes acted as the precursors for Fe and N active sites. After pyrolysis, the as-prepared HDPC electrocatalysts, especially HDPC-800 (pyrolyzed at 800 ℃), had more positive onsets, half-wave potentials, and higher catalytic activities for the ORR, which proceeds via a direct four-electron reaction pathway in alkaline media, similar to commercial Pt/C catalysts. Furthermore, HDPC-X also showed enhanced durability and better tolerance to methanol crossover and CO poisoning effects in comparison to commercial Pt/C, making them promising alternatives for state-of-the-art ORR electrocatalysts for electrochemical energy conversion. The method used here provides valuable guidelines for the design of high-performance ORR electrocatalysts from natural sources at the industrial scale.