Potassium Selenocyanate (KSeCN) Additive Enabled Stable Cathode Electrolyte Interphase and Iron Dissolution Inhibition toward Long-Cycling Potassium-Ion Batteries

Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) are promising energy storage devices owing to the close redox potential of potassium (K) to lithium and rich abundance of K resource, thus promoting the exploration of efficient cathode materials for K-ions storage. Fe-based Prussian blue analogues (KFeHCF) are promising cathode materials for KIBs due to their combined advantages in low cost and high energy density. However, the rapid capacity decay induced by unstable cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) and dissolution of transition metal ions leads to limited lifespans (e.g., hundreds of cycles) of K parallel to KFeHCF batteries. Incorporating additives into electrolytes is an economical and effective way to construct robust CEI for high-performance KIBs. Herein, a multifunctional electrolyte additive, potassium selenocyanate (KSeCN), is introduced to effectively construct stable, homogeneous and conductive CEI films, which leads to the inhibition of Fe dissolution and stabilization of KFeHCF structure during cycling. With 0.5 wt% of KSeCN in conventional carbonated electrolyte, the K parallel to KFeHCF battery exhibits promoted cycling performance with a capacity retention rate of 87% after 500 cycles at 4.5 V cutoff voltage. This finding provides a new paradigm for developing and designing potassium-ion battery electrolytes. An electrolyte additive modification strategy to manipulate the cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) properties on Prussian blue analogs surface. The potassium selenocyanate is introduced to construct stable and conductive CEI films, which leads to the inhibition of Fe dissolution and stabilization of cathode structure. This facile/efficient strategy will provide extensive inspiration to the researchers in potassium-ion batteries field.image

Automated summary

In this study, stable, homogeneous, and conductive cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) films were successfully constructed by introducing potassium selenocyanate as an additive in the electrolyte. This additive inhibited the dissolution of transition metals and stabilized the cathode structure, resulting in improved cycling performance of potassium-ion batteries.