An ultra-low concentration electrolyte with fluorine-free bulky anions for stable potassium metal batteries

Potassium metal battery is a promising alternative to Li-ion battery for large-scale energy storage due to the abundant potassium resources and high energy density.However,it suffers from rapid capacity fading and safety issues due to the uncontrolled dendrite growth.Herein,we design a fluorine-free ultra-low concentration electrolyte(ULCE)with the super bulky[BPh_(4)]^(−) anions for stable potassium metal battery.In this special electrolyte,the migration rate of K+in the electrolyte is about six times faster than that of the[BPh_(4)]^(−) anions because of the super bulky structure of the[BPh_(4)]^(−) anions,thus resulting in a high K^(+)transference number of 0.76.This high transference number can effectively make up for the deficiency of K^(+)in ULCE for ensuring the normal operation of the potassium metal battery.In addition,the improved transference number can also promote the uniform distribution of K^(+)flux on the surface of the K metal anode,resulting in uniform K deposition.As a result,this electrolyte achieves a high K plating/stripping Coulombic efficiency of 92.6%over 200 cycles and a stable discharging/charging for 100 cycles under the full battery configuration(K used as the anode and perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride used as the cathode).