Rational Design of Tungsten Selenide @ N-Doped Carbon Nanotube for High-Stable Potassium-Ion Batteries

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are deemed as one of the most promising energy storage systems due to their high energy density and low cost. However, their commercial application is far away from satisfactory because of limited suitable electrode materials. Herein, core-shell structured WSe2@N-doped C nanotubes are rationally designed and synthesized via selenizing WO3@ polypyrrole for the first time. The large interlayer spacing of WSe2 can facilitate the intercalation/deintercalation of K+. Meanwhile, the core-shell structured nanotube provides favorable interior void space to accommodate the volume expansion of WSe2 during cycling. Thus, the obtained electrode exhibits superb electrochemical performance with a high capacity of 301.7 mAh g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1) over 120 cycles, and 122.1 mAh g(-1) can remain at 500 mA g(-1) even after 1300 cycles. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction analysis reveals the K-ion storage mechanism of WSe2@N-doped C includes intercalation and conversion reaction. Density function theory (DFT) calculation demonstrates the reasonable diffusion pathway of K+. In addition, the obtained WSe2@N-doped C nanotubes have been used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries, which also show good rate performance and high cycle stability. Therefore, this work offers a new methodology for the ration design of new structure electrode materials with long cycle stability.

Automated summary

In this study, core-shell structured WSe2@N-doped C nanotubes were synthesized and demonstrated as promising electrode materials for potassium-ion batteries with excellent electrochemical performance and cycle stability. Moreover, these nanotubes also showed good rate performance and high cycle stability when used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.