Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Bridged Prussian Blue/rGO Composite as a High-Performance Cathode for K-Ion Batteries

Prussian blue (PB) is a very promising cathode for K-ion batteries but its low electronic conductivity and deficiencies in the framework aggravate electrochemical performances. Compositing with conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is an effective solution to address this problem. Nevertheless, little attention was paid to the loss of oxygen-containing functional groups on the rGO substrate during the compositing process, which weakens the interaction between PB and rGO and leads to poor electrochemical performance of PB/rGO. Herein, this interaction effect associated with surface functional groups is first openly debated. Two commonly used carbon substrates, graphene oxide (GO) and rGO, are investigated. A more stable interaction between PB and GO contributes to a higher capacity retention (91.8%) than that of PB/rGO (69.7%) after 300 cycles at a current density of 5 C. Meanwhile, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is employed to repair the weak interaction between PB and rGO substrates. PB is anchored to the rGO surface through the stable covalent linking of amide groups in PVP. A superior rate capability of 72 mA h g–1 at 10 C and an improved capacity retention of 96.5% over 800 cycles at 5 C are obtained by as-prepared PB/PVP-rGO. This study provides a deeper understanding of fabricating PB/carbon composites with a robust connection.