Co-activation for enhanced K-ion storage in battery anodes
Yanhong Feng, Yawei Lv, Hongwei Fu, Mihir Parekh, Apparao M. Rao, He Wang, Xiaolin Tai, Xianhui Yi, Yue Lin, Jiang Zhou, Bingan Lu
Abstract
ABSTRACT The relative natural abundance of potassium and potentially high energy density has established potassium-ion batteries as a promising technology for future large-scale global energy storage. However, the anodes’ low capacity and high discharge platform lead to low energy density, which impedes their rapid development. Herein, we present a possible co-activation mechanism between bismuth (Bi) and tin (Sn) that enhances K-ion storage in battery anodes. The co-activated Bi-Sn anode delivered a high capacity of 634 mAh g–1, with a discharge plateau as low as 0.35 V, and operated continuously for 500 cycles at a current density of 50 mA g–1, with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.2%. This possible co-activation strategy for high potassium storage may be extended to other Na/Zn/Ca/Mg/Al ion battery technologies, thus providing insights into how to improve their energy storage ability.