Control of SEI Formation for Stable Potassium-Ion Battery Anodes by Bi-MOF-Derived Nanocomposites

Bismuth (Bi)-based electrodes are highly attractive for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) while suffering from a short cycle life due to the larger diameter of K ion, leading to unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) films during continuous potassiation/depotassiation. Herein, we developed novel ultrathin carbon film@carbon nanorods@Bi nanoparticle (UCF@CNs@BiN) materials for the long cycle life anode of PIBs. Bi nanoparticles are uniformly distributed in carbon nanorods, which not only provides a high-speed channel for ion transport but also accommodates the volume change of Bi nanoparticles during continuous potassiation/depotassiation processes. The UCF@CN matrix can direct most SEI film formation on the surface of the carbon film, not on the surface of individual Bi nanoparticles, avoiding the fracture of the matrix. Benefiting from their unique structure, the UCF@CNs@BiN anodes exhibit an outstanding capacity of ∼425 mAh g–1 at 100 mA g–1 and a capacity decay of 0.038% per cycle over 600 cycles. Even at a higher current density of 1000 mA g–1, there is a capacity decay as low as 0.036% per cycle during 700 cycles. Meanwhile, this work provides a new way of utilizing the metal–organic framework structure and reveals a highly promising PIB anode.