SnSe Encapsulated in N-Doped Graphitic Carbon Prepared by Cation Exchange Methods for a High-Performance Anode in Potassium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Recently, potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) have attracted significant attention as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries, due to the natural abundance and cost-effectiveness of potassium. Because graphite has a low theoretical capacity of about 270 mAh g-1 as an anode in PIBs, there is an urgent need to explore novel anode materials with high reversible capacities. Tin selenide emerges as a promising anode with a high theoretical capacity of 425 mAh g-1, non-toxicity, and economic merits. Nonetheless, SnSe suffers from low electrical conductivity and structural instability during cycles. To address this issue, this study introduced N-doped graphitic carbon (NGC) for the first time by using an organic matrix to establish an intimate contact between SnSe particles and NGC. Dopamine was utilized as a carbon and nitrogen source, and it was transformed to NGC by the catalytic graphitization of an in-situ formed Ni catalyst. Subsequently, SnSe was synthesized in the NGC matrix via a cation exchange reaction to replace Ni with Sn. The SnSe@NGC-1 electrode exhibited a discharge capacity of 355 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g-1 and a capacity of 165.6 mAh g-1 after 5000 cycles at 2 A g-1 with an excellent long-term cycling performance. In addition, the SnSe@NGC-1||KFe(Fe(CN)6) full cell exhibited a high energy density of 917.1 Wh kg-1anode. These results highlight the potential of SnSe@NGC-1 as a promising anode material for PIBs.

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Feb 2025
Accepted
09 Aug 2025
First published
11 Aug 2025

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2025, Accepted Manuscript

SnSe Encapsulated in N-Doped Graphitic Carbon Prepared by Cation Exchange Methods for a High-Performance Anode in Potassium-Ion Batteries

N. An, B. Yun, J. Song, S. Jung, A. Y. Maulana, H. A. Seo, H. Ju and J. Kim, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D5TA00874C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements