Boosting the sodium storage performance of Prussian blue analogues via effective etching

Prussian blue analogues(PBAs)have gained significant popularity as cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)due to their remarkable features such as high capacity and convenient synthesis.However,PBAs usually suffer from kinetic problems during the electrochemical reactions due to sluggish Na~+diffusion in the large crystals,resulting in low-capacity utilization and inferior rate capability.In this study,we present a facile etching method aiming at activating the sodium storage sites and accelerating the Na~+transport of Na_2NiFe(CN)_6(denoted as NaNiHCF)by precisely controlling its morphologies.A progressive corner passivation phenomenon occurred in NaNiHCF during the etching process,which led to a substantial augmentation of the specific surface area as the morphology transitioned from a standard cube to a dice shape.Notably,by controlling the etching time,the obtained NaNiHCF-3 electrode exhibited boosted electrochemical performance with high reversible capacity of 83.5mAh g~(-1)(98.2%of its theoretical capacity),superior rate capability(71.2 mAh g~(-1)at 10 C),and stable cycling life-span at different temperatures.Both experimental and computational methods reveal the remarkably reversible structural evolution process and improved Na~+diffusion coefficient.We believe that this work can serve as an indispensable reference to tailor the structure of PBAs to obtain improved electrochemical performance.