Early View e202510150
Research Article

Transition Metal Atom–Cluster Synergistic Modification with Tuned d-band Center Imparts Longevous Potassium Metal Anodes

Qian Liu

Qian Liu

College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy, Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Search for more papers by this author
Yongbiao Mu

Yongbiao Mu

Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Search for more papers by this author
Tao Ye

Tao Ye

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Search for more papers by this author
Xueyu Lian

Xueyu Lian

College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy, Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 China

Search for more papers by this author
Yiwen Su

Yiwen Su

Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Search for more papers by this author
Xiaopeng Chen

Xiaopeng Chen

College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy, Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 China

Search for more papers by this author
Zixiong Shi

Zixiong Shi

Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955–6900 Saudi Arabia

Search for more papers by this author
Zixiang Meng

Zixiang Meng

College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy, Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 China

Search for more papers by this author
Lin Zeng

Corresponding Author

Lin Zeng

Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Zhongti Sun

Corresponding Author

Zhongti Sun

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Jingyu Sun

Corresponding Author

Jingyu Sun

College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy, Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 23 June 2025

Graphical Abstract

The transition metal atom–cluster synergistic strategy modifies the aluminum current collector to enhance potassiophilicity, increase nucleation density and induce 3D progressive nucleation mode, thereby ensuring a dendrite-free potassium anode toward robust potassium metal batteries.

Abstract

The tailored nucleation and growth of potassium metal over a current collector is essential to realize longevous potassium metal anodes. The commercial current collector lacks sufficient nucleation sites and fails to guide uniform deposition, underscoring the request for interfacial modulation maneuvers. Herein, we develop transition metal atom–cluster moiety decorated N-doped hollow carbon nanosphere to modify the Al current collector. In a Fe model system, the Fe single atoms provide high surface energy and fast charge transfer, while Fe clusters serve as local electron reservoirs. This cooperative architecture manages to tune the d-band center, accordingly promoting the potassium capture and minimizing the nucleation overpotential to merely 4 mV. Theoretical simulations and in situ microscopic/spectroscopic characterizations evidence that the synergistic modification markedly accelerates potassium plating/stripping kinetics, enabling prolonged symmetric-cell cycling (approaching 3000 h) and stabilized full-cell performance (0.022% decay rate per cycle over 2000 cycles). This strategy could be extended to other transition metals (e.g., Co, Ni, or Cu), offering a paradigm for atomic-level interfacial engineering toward reversible alkali metal batteries.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.