TY - JOUR

T1 - Accelerated Diffusion Kinetics in ZnTe/CoTe2 Heterojunctions for High Rate Potassium Storage

AU - Zhang, Chaofeng

AU - Li, Hao

AU - Zeng, Xiaohui

AU - Xi, Shibo

AU - Wang, Rui

AU - Zhang, Longhai

AU - Liang, Gemeng

AU - Davey, Kenneth

AU - Liu, Yuping

AU - Zhang, Lin

AU - Zhang, Shilin

AU - Guo, Zaiping

N1 - Funding Information: C.Z. H.L. contributed equally to this work. The authors acknowledged financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52172173, 51872071), Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (2108085J25), Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Polymer Materials, and the Natural Science Research Projects of Universities in Anhui Province (KJ2020A0021). This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC, DP210101486, and FL210100050). The authors thank AINSE Ltd, Australia, for financial assistance (Beamline Award). The authors also acknowledge Dr. Weiqiang Tang for conducting theoretical calculations. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Adelaide, as part of the Wiley - The University of Adelaide agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

PY - 2022/11/3

Y1 - 2022/11/3

N2 - Potassium-ion batteries hold practical potential for large-scale energy storage owing to their appealing cell voltage and cost-effective features. The development of anode materials with high rate capability and satisfactory cycle lifespan, however, is one of the key elements for exploiting this electrochemical energy storage system at practical levels. Here, a template-assisted strategy is reported for acquiring a bimetallic telluride heterostructure which is supported on N-doped carbon shell (ZnTe/CoTe2@NC) that promotes diffusion of K+ ions for rapid charge transfer. It is shown that in telluride heterojunctions, electron-rich Te sites and built-in electric fields contributed by electron transfer from ZnTe to CoTe2 concomitantly provide abundant cation adsorption sites and facilitate interfacial electron transport during potassiation/depotassiation. The relatively fine ZnTe/CoTe2 nanoparticles imparted by the heterojunction result in high structural stability, together with a highly reversible capacity up to 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1. Moreover, using judiciously combined experiment and theoretical computation, it is demonstrated that the energy barrier for K+ diffusion in telluride heterojunctions is significantly lower than that in individual counterparts. This quantitative design for fast and durable charge transfer in telluride heterostructures can be of immediate benefit for the rational design of batteries for low-cost energy storage and conversion.

AB - Potassium-ion batteries hold practical potential for large-scale energy storage owing to their appealing cell voltage and cost-effective features. The development of anode materials with high rate capability and satisfactory cycle lifespan, however, is one of the key elements for exploiting this electrochemical energy storage system at practical levels. Here, a template-assisted strategy is reported for acquiring a bimetallic telluride heterostructure which is supported on N-doped carbon shell (ZnTe/CoTe2@NC) that promotes diffusion of K+ ions for rapid charge transfer. It is shown that in telluride heterojunctions, electron-rich Te sites and built-in electric fields contributed by electron transfer from ZnTe to CoTe2 concomitantly provide abundant cation adsorption sites and facilitate interfacial electron transport during potassiation/depotassiation. The relatively fine ZnTe/CoTe2 nanoparticles imparted by the heterojunction result in high structural stability, together with a highly reversible capacity up to 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1. Moreover, using judiciously combined experiment and theoretical computation, it is demonstrated that the energy barrier for K+ diffusion in telluride heterojunctions is significantly lower than that in individual counterparts. This quantitative design for fast and durable charge transfer in telluride heterostructures can be of immediate benefit for the rational design of batteries for low-cost energy storage and conversion.

KW - anodes

KW - built-in electric field

KW - heterostructures

KW - potassium-ion batteries

KW - tellurides

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137226532&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/aenm.202202577

DO - 10.1002/aenm.202202577

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85137226532

VL - 12

JO - Advanced energy materials

JF - Advanced energy materials

SN - 1614-6832

IS - 41

M1 - 2202577

ER -