Advancements and Prospects of Graphite Anode for Potassium-Ion Batteries

Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) have recently attracted considerable attention owing to their resource abundance, low cost and environmental friendliness. Graphite as a mature commercial anode material for lithium-ion batteries, has been proved as a promising anode candidate for KIBs by reversible forming potassium-graphite intercalation compounds. However, large volume expansion and sluggish K⁺ kinetics caused by the incompatibility between large radius of K⁺ and the small interlayer spacing of graphite, result in the poor cycle stability and rate performances, hindering its practical application. Extensive research efforts have focused on improving the potassium storage performance of graphite anodes. This review provides an overview of recent advances in addressing these challenges and optimizing the electrochemical performance of graphite anodes for KIBs. Various strategies to improve the electrochemical performance of graphite and graphitic carbon anodes, such as microcrystalline regulation, heteroatom doping, morphological adjustment, and coating modification, are discussed, while the critical issues and challenges associated with graphite anodes and the prospects for their advancement in KIBs are highlighted. The review offers valuable guidelines for rational structural design and promotes the commercial development of high-performance graphite anode materials for KIBs.