Advanced Carbon Materials for Non-aqueous Potassium Ion Battery Anodes

Owing to the abundant reserves and low cost, potassium ion batteries (PIBs), as potential alternatives to lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the field of grid-level electrical energy storage systems, have triggered extensive research interest recently. Taking into consideration of the cost, environmental benignity and sustainability, carbon-based materials are supposed to be a promising choice for PIB anodes. In this perspective, we summarize the carbon-based materials with various microstructures toward PIBs and try to offer comprehensive understanding the underlying mechanism of potassium (K) ion storage. In addition, several strategies including heteroatom doping, morphology engineering, defect engineering, interlayer engineering, and composition engineering are proposed to rationally design the nanostructures of the advanced carbon-based PIB anodes. Finally, we conclude the current challenges and provide our perspectives on the development of high-performance carbon materials for PIB anodes.