Regulating solid electrolyte interphases on phosphorus/carbon anodes via localized high-concentration electrolytes for potassium-ion batteries

The resourceful and inexpensive red phosphorus has emerged as a promising anode material of potassium-ion batteries(PIBs) for its large theoretical capacities and low redox potentials in the multielectron alloying/dealloying reactions,yet chronically suffering from the huge volume expansion/shrinkage with a sluggish reaction kinetics and an unsatisfactory interfacial stability against volatile electrolytes.Herein,we systematically developed a series of localized high-concentration electrolytes(LHCE) through diluting high-concentration ether electrolytes with a non-solvating fluorinated ether to regulate the formation/evolution of solid electrolyte interphases(SEI) on phosphorus/carbon(P/C) anodes for PIBs.Benefitting from the improved mechanical strength and structural stability of a robust/uniform SEI thin layer derived from a composition-optimized LHCE featured with a unique solvation structure and a superior K+migration capability,the P/C anode with noticeable pseudocapacitive behaviors could achieve a large reversible capacity of 760 mA h g^(-1)at 100 mA g^(-1),a remarkable capacity retention rate of 92.6% over 200 cycles at 800 mA g^(-1),and an exceptional rate capability of 334 mA h g^(-1)at8000 mA g^(-1).Critically,a suppressed reduction of ether solvents with a preferential decomposition of potassium salts in anion-derived interfacial reactions on P/C anode for LHCE could enable a rational construction of an outer organic-rich and inner inorganic-dominant SEI thin film with remarkable mechanical strength/flexibility to buffer huge volume variations and abundant K+diffusion channels to accelerate reaction kinetics.Additionally,the highly reversible/durable full PIBs coupling P/C anodes with annealed organic cathodes further verified an excellent practical applicability of LHCE.This encouraging work on electrolytes regulating SEI formation/evolution would advance the development of P/C anodes for high-performance PIBs.

MXene Ti_(3)C_(2) decorated g-C_(3)N_(4)/ZnO photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic performance for CO_(2) reduction

Photocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) is considered as a kind of promising technologies for solving the greenhouse effect.Herein,a novel hybrid structure of g-C_(3)N_(4)/ZnO/Ti_(3)C_(2) photocatalysts was designed and fabricated to investigate their abilities for CO_(2) reduction.As demonstration,heterojunction of g-C_(3)N_(4)/ZnO can improve photogenerated carriers’separation,the addition of Ti_(3)C_(2) fragments can further facilitate the photocatalytic performance from CO_(2) to CO.Hence,g-C_(3)N_(4)/ZnO/Ti_(3)C_(2) has efficiently increased CO production by 8 and 12 times than pristine g-C_(3)N_(4) and ZnO,respectively.Which is ascribed to the photogenerated charge migration promoted by metallic Ti_(3)C_(2).This work provides a guideline for designing efficient hybrid catalysts on other applications in the renewable energy fields.