Li-ion batteries (LIBs), commercialized in 1991, have the highest energy density among practical secondary batteries and are widely utilized in electronics, electric vehicles, and even stationary energy storage systems. Along with the expansion of their demand and application, concern about the resources of Li and Co is growing. Therefore, secondary batteries composed of earth-abundant elements are desired to complement LIBs. In recent years, K-ion batteries (KIBs) have attracted significant attention as potential alternatives to LIBs. Previous studies have developed positive and negative electrode materials for KIBs and demonstrated several unique advantages of KIBs over LIBs and Na-ion batteries (NIBs). Thus, besides being free from any scarce/ toxic elements, the low standard electrode potentials of K/K + electrodes lead to high operation voltages competitive to those observed in LIBs. Moreover, K + ions exhibit faster ionic diffusion in electrolytes due to weaker interaction with solvents and anions than that of Li + ions; this is essential to realize high-power KIBs. This review comprehensively covers the studies on electrochemical materials for KIBs, including electrode and electrolyte materials and a discussion on recent achievements and remaining/emerging issues. The review also includes insights into electrode reactions and solid-state ionics and nonaqueous solution chemistry as well as perspectives on the research-based development of KIBs compared to those of LIBs and NIBs.

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered as the best available technology to push forward the production of eco-friendly electric vehicles (EVs) and for the efficient utilization of renewable energy sources. Transformation from conventional vehicles to EVs are hindered by the high upfront price of the EVs and are mainly due to the high cost of LIBs. Hence, cost reduction of LIBs is one of the major strategies to bring forth the EVs to compete in the market with their gasoline counterparts. In our attempt to produce cheaper high-performance cathode materials for LIBs, an rGO/MOPOF (reduced graphene oxide/Metal-Organic Phosphate Open Framework) nanocomposite with ~4 V of operation has been developed by a cost effective room temperature synthesis that eliminates any expensive post-synthetic treatments at high temperature under Ar/Ar-H2. Firstly, an hydrated nanocomposite, rGO/K2[(VO)2(HPO4)2(C2O4)]·4.5H2O has been prepared by simple magnetic stirring at room temperature which releases water to form the anhydrous cathode material while drying at 90 °C during routine electrode fabrication procedure. The pristine MOPOF material undergoes highly reversible lithium storage, however with capacity fading. Enhanced lithium cycling has been witnessed with rGO/MOPOF nanocomposite which exhibits minimal capacity fading thanks to increased electronic conductivity and enhanced Li diffusivity.

ZnFe2O4 and MgxCu0.2Zn0.82-xFe1.98O4 (where x = 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, and 0.40) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel assisted combustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area studies were used to characterize the synthesized compounds. ZnFe2O4 and the doped compounds crystallize in Fd3m space group. The lattice parameter of ZnFe2O4 is calculated to be a = 8.448(3) Å, while the doped compounds show a slight decrease in the lattice parameter with an increase in the Mg content. The particle size of all the compositions are in the range of ∼50-80 nm, and the surface area of the compounds are in the range of 11-12 m(2) g(-1). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies were used to investigate the electrochemical properties of the different compositions. The as-synthesized samples at 600 °C show large-capacity fading, while the samples reheated at 800 °C show better cycling stability. ZnFe2O4 exhibits a high reversible capacity of 575 mAh g(-1) after 60 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1). Mg0.2Cu0.2Zn0.62Fe1.98O4 shows a similar capacity of 576 mAh g(-1) after 60 cycles with better capacity retention.

K‐ion batteries (KIBs) are promising for large‐scale energy storage owing to various advantages like the high abundance of potassium resources in the Earth's crust, high operational potentials, and high power due to fast diffusion of K+ ions. However, to realize the practical application of KIBs, electrode materials are needed with high operational voltage, good capacity, long cycle life, and low‐cost. This work reports a layered open framework material, K2[(VOHPO4)2(C2O4)], composited with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a 4 V positive electrode material for KIBs. The material is prepared by a simple precipitation reaction at room temperature. The material demonstrates reversible K‐extraction/insertion with conventional carbonate ester KPF6 solutions; however, with low specific capacity and low Coulombic efficiency. A high discharge capacity of >100 mAh g−1 with good cycling stability and higher Coulombic efficiency is achieved in a highly concentrated electrolyte, 7 mol kg−1 of potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (KFSA) in dimethoxyethane (DME) at 0.1 C rate. Due to the facile migration of K+ ions in the framework, the material exhibits excellent rate capability with a discharge capacity of 80 mAh g−1 at 10 C rate, and a good capacity retention of 67% after 500 cycles at 2 C rate.

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RGO/Sb 2 S 3 nanocomposite has been investigated in this study as a dual anode material for Li and Na-ion battery applications. The stibnite phase, Sb 2 S 3 and its rGO composite have been obtained by decomposition of a molecular complex, Sb(SCOPh) 3 or its rGO mixture by solid state decomposition or hydrothermal treatment. The pristine sample consists of micron sized particles with rod-like morphology while the rGO composite is made of nanoparticles of Sb 2 S 3 embedded in rGO sheets. Electrochemical lithium and sodium storage properties of the prepared materials have been investigated using galvanostatic cycling, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies. The rGO composite demonstrates better lithium storage capacity than the pristine sample owing to enhanced conductivity. In addition, the rGO sheets act as a buffer for volume change during lithium/sodium cycling resulting in a better energy storage.

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered to be the best available energy storage device in the market to power electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy storage in grids for the efficient utilization of renewable energy sources. In this work, a novel family of phosphite containing framework materials have been synthesized and investigated as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. The oxalatophosphite frameworks, A 2 [(VO) 2 (HPO 3 ) 2 (C 2 O 4 )]; A ¼ Li, Na and K were prepared by hydrothermal treatment followed by dehydration. These cathodes possess a layered structure which can host the Li ions in the interlayer space. Electrochemical investigation of these materials using galvanostatic cycling, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveal highly reversible Li intercalation at $3.8 V.Improved capacity was observed for the graphene composite compared to the pristine sample.

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