Layered Potassium Titanium Niobate/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as a Potassium-Ion Battery Anode

With graphite currently leading as the most viable anode for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), other materials have been left relatively under-examined. Transition metal oxides are among these, with many positive attributes such as synthetic maturity, long-term cycling stability and fast redox kinetics. Therefore, to address this research deficiency we report herein a layered potassium titanium niobate KTiNbO(5) (KTNO) and its rGO nanocomposite (KTNO/rGO) synthesised via solvothermal methods as a high-performance anode for KIBs. Through effective distribution across the electrically conductive rGO, the electrochemical performance of the KTNO nanoparticles was enhanced. The potassium storage performance of the KTNO/rGO was demonstrated by its first charge capacity of 128.1 mAh g(−1) and reversible capacity of 97.5 mAh g(−1) after 500 cycles at 20 mA g(−1), retaining 76.1% of the initial capacity, with an exceptional rate performance of 54.2 mAh g(−1) at 1 A g(−1). Furthermore, to investigate the attributes of KTNO in-situ XRD was performed, indicating a low-strain material. Ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectra further investigated the mechanism of charge storage, with the titanium showing greater redox reversibility than the niobium. This work suggests this low-strain nature is a highly advantageous property and well worth regarding KTNO as a promising anode for future high-performance KIBs. [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40820-023-01222-2.