Reversible potassium storage in ultrafine CF_(x): A superior cathode material for potassium batteries and its mechanism

Current studies of cathodes for potassium batteries(PBs) mainly focus on the intercalation-type materials.The conversion-type materials that possess much higher theoretical capacities are rarely discussed in previous literatures.In this work,carbon fluoride(CF_x) is reported as a high capacity conversion-type cathode for PBs for the first time.The material delivers a remarkable discharge capacity of>250 mAh g^(-1) with mid-voltage of 2.6 V at 20 mA g^(-1).Moreover,a highly reversible capacity of around 95 mAh g^(-1) is achieved at 125 mA g^(-1) and maintained for 900 cycles,demonstrating its excellent cycling stability.The mechanism of this highly reversible conversion reaction is further investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectra,X-ray diffraction,and transmission electron microscopy studies.According to the analyses,the C-F bond in the cycled material is different from that in the pristine state,which presents relatively higher reversibility.This finding offers important insights for further improving the performance of the CF_x.This work not only demonstrates the CF_x as a high performance cathode for PBs,but also paves a new avenue of exploring conversion-type cathodes for high energy density PBs.