Stimulating the Reversibility of Sb 2 S 3 Anode for High-Performance Potassium-Ion Batteries

Conversion-alloy sulfide materials for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) have attracted considerable attention because of their high capacities and suitable working potentials. However, the sluggish kinetics and sulfur loss result in their rapid capacity degeneration as well as inferior rate capability. Herein, a strategy that uses the confinement and catalyzed effect of Nb2 O5 layers to restrict the sulfur species and facilitate them to form sulfides reversibly is proposed. Taking Sb2 S3 anode as an example, Sb2 S3 and Nb2 O5 are dispersed in the core and shell layers of carbon nanofibers (C NFs), respectively, constructing core@shell structure Sb2 S3 -C@Nb2 O5 -C NFs. Benefiting from the bi-functional Nb2 O5 layers, the electrochemical reversibility of Sb2 S3 is stimulated. As a result, the Sb2 S3 -C@Nb2 O5 -C NFs electrode delivers the rapidest K-ion diffusion coefficient, longest cycling stability, and most excellent rate capability among the controlled electrodes (347.5 mAh g-1 is kept at 0.1 A g-1 after 100 cycles, and a negligible capacity degradation (0.03% per cycle) at 2.0 A g-1 for 2200 cycles is delivered). The enhanced K-ion storage properties are also found in SnS2 -C@Nb2 O5 -C NFs electrode. Encouraged by the stimulated reversibility of Sb2 S3 and SnS2 anodes, other sulfides with high electrochemical performance also could be developed for KIBs.