High S-doped amorphous carbon/carbon quantum dots coupled micro-frame for highly efficient potassium storage

Wei Xie; Qingfeng Zhang; Shuai Song; Xueli Cheng; Ying Yang; Longlu Wang; Xiaoping Ouyang; Shuhong Xie; Jianyu Huang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.123

High S-doped amorphous carbon/carbon quantum dots coupled micro-frame for highly efficient potassium storage

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Dec 15;652(Pt B):1522-1532. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.123. Epub 2023 Aug 23.

Authors

Wei Xie¹, Qingfeng Zhang², Shuai Song¹, Xueli Cheng³, Ying Yang⁴, Longlu Wang⁵, Xiaoping Ouyang¹, Shuhong Xie⁶, Jianyu Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Application Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiangtan University, Hunan 411105, China.
² Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Application Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiangtan University, Hunan 411105, China. Electronic address: zhangqf@xtu.edu.cn.
³ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taishan University, Shandong 271000, China. Electronic address: x_cheng@tsu.edu.cn.
⁴ Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensors and Advanced Sensor Materials, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Hunan 411201, China.
⁵ College of Electronic and Optical Engineering & College of Flexible Electronics, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Application Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiangtan University, Hunan 411105, China. Electronic address: shxie@xtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37660609
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.123

Abstract

Anode materials with excellent rate capability, capacity, and cycle life have been a challenge in obtaining cost-effective K-ion batteries (KIBs). Based on the concept of waste recycling, we prepared the S-doped (21.5%) amorphous carbon/carbon quantum dots coupled micro-frame (SCMF) by combining chemical exfoliation and S/Se-assisted carbonization. SCMF exhibited the advantages of integrating amorphous carbon and carbon quantum dots (CQDs). The CQDs serve as fast electron channels, while amorphous carbon can accommodate more large-size K-ions and mitigate volume expansion. In KIBs, SCMF maintained a high reversible capacity (414.0 mAh g^-1, after 100 cycles at 100 mA g^-1), a good rate capability (224.0 mAh g^-1, 2000 mA g^-1), and excellent capacity retention (208.9 mAh g^-1, after 2000 cycles at 1000 mA g^-1). The molecular dynamic simulation revealed that CQDs provided fast electron transport channels and that C, O and S atoms had suitable interactions with K, facilitating potassium storage. Moreover, the potassium-ion capacitor (PIC) assembled from SCMF and activated carbon exhibited stable electrochemical performance, proving its potential for application. The research provided valuable insights into the reuse of biomass waste in new secondary batteries.

Keywords: Amorphous carbon; Capacity retention; Carbon quantum dots; K-ion batteries; Waste utilization.