Synergistic Stabilization of Potassium Metal Anodes Through Orange‐Peel Elimination and Robust Solid–Electrolyte Interphase Formation
ABSTRACT Potassium (K) metal anodes are attractive for next‐generation rechargeable batteries due to their low redox potential and elemental abundance, yet their practical application is hindered by dendrite growth and unstable solid‐electrolyte interphases (SEIs). Here, we replace conventional roll pressing with a cutting‐based fabrication strategy to produce crystallographically more uniform and minimally deformed K surfaces, while independently tuning SEI chemistry through electrolyte concentration. This approach establishes a unified framework that elucidates the synergistic coupling between surface uniformity and SEI robustness in governing K plating/stripping stability. Only their synergy delivers fast kinetics, high areal capacity, and long‐term reversibility. Consequently, optimized K||K symmetric cells operate stably for over 4 000 h at 0.5 mA cm −2 and 4 mA h cm −2 . Full cells paired with K 1.97 Mn[Fe(CN) 6 ] cathodes retain 90% capacity after 1200 cycles. These findings highlight the importance of concurrent morphological and interfacial regulation for practical K metal anodes.
Authors
- Denys Makarov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7177-4308)
- Yundong Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9222-5722)
- Yi-Xiang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4021-4228)
- Wanjun Ren
- Rui Xu
- Matthew Hopper
- Ruhan He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0220-9684)
- Yang Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0177-6348)
- Ian S. Gilmore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0981-2318)
- Qinyou An (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0605-4942)
- Pan He
- Liqiang Mai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4259-7725)
- Yupei Han
- Yunlong Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7574-7315)
Institutions
- National Institute of Aerospace (US)
- National Physical Laboratory (GB)
- National Nuclear Laboratory (GB)
- Wuhan University of Technology (CN)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE)
- Dyson (United Kingdom) (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.75878
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Leverhulme Trust
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- National Key Research and Development Program of China