Nanopore introduction in graphite to boost the fast and stable potassium storage

Graphite is considered as a promising anode material for potassium ion batteries, accounting for potassium ions intercalation into graphite to form a series of Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs). However, the cycling and rate performance of graphite is poor. Herein, the introduction of nanopore structures into graphite is explored to improve electrochemical potassium ion storage performance. Introducing nanopores in the graphite can decrease the crystallite size (Lc) of graphite and provides pathways for K ⁺ transport. The results indicate that the capacity of graphite with the introduction of nanopore structure increases from 260 to 306 mAh g ⁻¹ at 0.1 C and the graphite shows superior cyclic stability (99.6% capacity retention from 4 to 120 cycle). This work provides a strategy to boost the electrochemical potassium-ions storage performance of graphite anode by the introduction of nanopore structures into graphite and also provides ideas for the research of high-performance potassium ion batteries.