Engineering Ion Diffusion by CoS@SnS Heterojunction for Ultrahigh-Rate and Stable Potassium Batteries

Transitional metal sulfides (TMSs) are considered as promising anode candidates for potassium storage because of their ultrahigh theoretical capacity and low cost. However, TMSs suffer from low electronic, ionic conductivity and significant volume expansion during potassium ion intercalation. Here, we construct a carbon-coated CoS@SnS heterojunction which effectively alleviates the volume change and improves the electrochemical performance of TMSs. The mechanism analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculation prove the acceleration of K-ion diffusion by the built-in electric field in the CoS@SnS heterojunction. Specifically, the as-prepared material maintains 81% of its original capacity after 2000 cycles at 500 mA g(-1). In addition, when the current density is set at 2000 mA g(-1), it can still deliver a high discharge capacity of 210 mAh Moreover, the full cell can deliver a high capacity of 400 mAh g(-1) even after 150 cycles when paired with a perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxydiimide (PTCDI) cathode. This work is expected to provide a material design idea dealing with the unstable and low rate capability problems of potassium-ion batteries.

Automated summary

In this study, a carbon-coated CoS@SnS heterojunction was constructed to effectively alleviate volume change and improve the electrochemical performance of transitional metal sulfides (TMSs) as anode materials for potassium-ion batteries. Mechanism analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the built-in electric field in the CoS@SnS heterojunction accelerated the diffusion of potassium ions. The results of this study are expected to address the instability and low rate capability issues of potassium-ion batteries.