With the rapid development of smart portable electronics and electric vehicles, the consumption of lithium resources will increase dramatically and the cost of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) may increase significantly in the future. In addition, the shortage (0.0017 wt% in the Earth’s crust) and uneven crustal distribution of lithium also limit its further development and application. Potassium (2.7 wt% in the earth’s crust) has properties similar to lithium and abundant reserves. Therefore, as an alternative to LIBs, potassium ion batteries (PIBs) have become the focus of research. Potassium (2.92 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode) has a standard electrode potential closer to Li (3.04 V vs. SHE) than the standard electrode potential of Na (2.71 V vs. SHE), Mg (2.37 V vs. SHE) and Al (1.66 V vs. SHE). This means that PIBs may provide a higher energy density and working voltage. Consequently, it is of great significance to explore potential electrode materials and study their potassium storage mechanism.
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Source: Phys.org