The cutting-edge phosphorus-rich metal phosphides for energy storage and conversion

•Phosphorus-rich metal phosphides show great superiority in energy storage and conversion fields.•The up-to-date advances of phosphorus-rich metal phosphides are summarized and analyzed insightfully.•The theory-composition/structure-performance relationships and the reasons behind the superior performance are revealed.•The cutting-edge P-rich metal phosphides provide a great promise to solve the intractable energy and environmental issues.