journal article·2026-05-29Open access

Synergistic Stabilization of Potassium Metal Anodes Through Orange‐Peel Elimination and Robust Solid–Electrolyte Interphase Formation

Pan He, Yupei Han, Yundong Zhou, Ruhan He, Rui Xu, Yunlong Zhao, Junjun Wang, Wanjun Ren, Matthew Hopper, Qinyou An, Denys Makarov, Ian S. Gilmore, Liqiang Mai, Yang Xu

Abstract

ABSTRACT Potassium (K) metal anodes are attractive for next‐generation rechargeable batteries due to their low redox potential and elemental abundance, yet their practical application is hindered by dendrite growth and unstable solid‐electrolyte interphases (SEIs). Here, we replace conventional roll pressing with a cutting‐based fabrication strategy to produce crystallographically more uniform and minimally deformed K surfaces, while independently tuning SEI chemistry through electrolyte concentration. This approach establishes a unified framework that elucidates the synergistic coupling between surface uniformity and SEI robustness in governing K plating/stripping stability. Only their synergy delivers fast kinetics, high areal capacity, and long‐term reversibility. Consequently, optimized K||K symmetric cells operate stably for over 4 000 h at 0.5 mA cm −2 and 4 mA h cm −2 . Full cells paired with K 1.97 Mn[Fe(CN) 6 ] cathodes retain 90% capacity after 1200 cycles. These findings highlight the importance of concurrent morphological and interfacial regulation for practical K metal anodes.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies · Advancements in Battery Materials · Advanced battery technologies research

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China

Department of Chemistry University College London London UK

National Physical Laboratory Hampton UK

Department of Engineering University of Cambridge Cambridge UK

Helmholtz‐Zentrum Dresden‐Rossendorf e.V. Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research Dresden Germany

Dyson School of Design Engineering Imperial College London London UK

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing Wuhan University of Technology Wuhan Hubei China

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council · Leverhulme Trust

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