Stable Solid Electrolyte Interphase for Long-Life Potassium Metal Batteries

Potassium (K) is considered to be the most suitable anode material for rechargeable K batteries because of its high theoretical capacity (686 mAh g–1) and low redox potential (−2.93 V vs SHE). However, uneven electrodeposition of K during cycling usually leads to the growth of dendrites, resulting in low Coulombic efficiency and compromising battery safety. Herein, we develop a strategy for stabilizing K metal through simple interface control. The conductive passivation layer can be controllably designed by a spontaneous chemical reaction when a K metal foil is kept in contact with a liquid-phase potassium-polysulfide (PPS); this guides the formation of an electronically and ionically conductive solid electrolyte interphase layer including K2S compound, enabling dense K plating with a dendrite-free morphology. Compared to the bare K metal anode, the PPS-treated K metal anode demonstrates superior cycling stability in symmetric half cells and full cells using a TiS2 cathode under practical constraints.