Conventional carbon anodes for potassium-ion batteries: Progress, challenges and prospects

As an emerging electrochemical energy storage technology, potassium-ion batteries (PIBs), which are considered a “beyond Li-ion” battery system, have attracted tremendous attention due to their potential for providing a high energy density, and having abundant resource, and a low cost. However, their commercialization is hindered by the lack of practical anode materials. Among various reported anodes, conventional carbon materials, including graphite, soft carbon, and hard carbon, have emerged as promising candidates because of their abundance, low cost, high conductivity, and tunable structures. However, these materials have problems such as a low initial Coulombic efficiency, significant volume expansion, and unsatisfactory cyclability and rate performance. Various strategies to solve these have been explored, including optimizing the interlayer spacing, structural design, surface coating, constructing a multifunctional framework, and forming composites. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent progress in conventional carbon anodes, highlighting structural design strategies, mechanisms for improving the electrochemical performance, and underscores the critical role of these materials in promoting the practical application of PIBs.

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