Review of Emerging Potassium-Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

This is the first review on potassium-sulfur (K-S) batteries (KSBs), which are emerging metal battery (MB) systems. Since KSBs are quite new, there are fundamental questions regarding the electrochemistry of S-based cathode and of K metal anode, as well as the holistic aspects of full-cell performance. The manuscript begins with a critical discussion regarding the potassium-sulfur electrochemistry and on how it differs from the much better-known lithium-sulfur. Cathodes are discussed next, focusing on the role of sulfur structure, carbon host chemistry and porosity, and electrolytes in establishing the reversible potassium sulfide K₂ S_n phase sequence, the parasitic polysulfide shuttle, pulverization-driven capacity fade, etc. Following is a discussion of solid-state electrolytes (SSEs), including of hybrid solid-liquid systems that show much promise. Potassium metal anodes are then critically reviewed, emphasizing electrolyte reactions to form stable versus unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), covering the current understanding of potassium dendrites, and highlighting the deep-eutectic K-Na alloying approaches for room temperature liquid anodes. The manuscript concludes with K-S batteries, focusing on cell architectures and providing quantitative performance comparisons as master plots. Unanswered scientific/technological questions are identified, emerging research opportunities are discussed, and potential experimental and simulation-based studies that can unravel these unknowns are proposed.

Keywords: polysulfides; potassium anode; potassium-sulfur batteries; solid state electrolytes.