Ultrathin carbon nanosheets with carbon composite structure of amorphous carbon and pseudo-graphite domains for high-capacity, stable and fast potassium storage

Although great progress has been made in carbon anodes for potassium-ion batteries, the development of advanced carbon anodes with fast reaction kinetics and high cycle stability is still a great challenge due to the large radius of K+ (0.138 nm). In this work, novel ultrathin carbon nanosheets (UCNs) fabricated by vapor-induced bubbling strategy are reported to address current challenge. The results show that the UCNs are composed of 3D interconnected 30 nm-thick sheet units with well-developed hierarchical micro-/meso-/macro-pores, which can not only increase the contact area between electrode/electrolyte, but also effectively buffer the volume expansion caused by the (de)potassiation. In addition, UCNs have a carbon composite structure of intertwined pseudo-graphite domains and amorphous carbon domains, providing abundant storage active sites and fast transport channels for K+. Specifically, the UCN-1300 delivers a K+ storage capacity of ≈350 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.05 A g−1. Moreover, it presents excellent cycle stability, maintaining a capacity of 120 mAh g−1 after 5000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g−1, with a capacity retention rate of more than 99%. In prior reports, carbon anodes demonstrating such a high K+ storage capacity and outstanding cycle stability are rarely obtained.