POSIDON · Potassium-Ion electrochemical energy storage in metal-organic hybrid frameworks doped with redox and electron transport boosters

Potassium ion batteries (KIBs) offer unique opportunities for low-cost, sustainable, and high-performance electrochemical energy storage required for the electrification of transportation, and for storing energy from renewable but intermittent resources. However, concerted efforts are required to tackle the challenges of KIBs, such as the short life, low energy content, and long charging time. POSIDON will leverage the versatile material toolbox of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and graphene derivatives (core expertise of the applicant and host institution, respectively) to design and develop efficient electrode materials, and introduce a paradigm shift in KIBs performance. POSIDON will build advanced hybrid K-ion batteries (HyKIBs) by engineering and studying 1) strategically designed cathodes based on coaxial metallic/MOF nanowires doped with redox-active molecules to boost the conductivity and capacity, and 2) sophisticated two-dimensional anodes based on graphene derivatives with dense out-of-plane and in-plane functionalities as hosts for single metal atoms, acting as nucleation centers for the improvement of reversible deposition and stripping of potassium, of potassiophilicity and impeding dendrite formation, which is catastrophic for the life-cycle and safety. These electrodes will dramatically improve the capacity, the energy content of the HyKIBs, and prolong their life. Moreover, the high porosity of MOFs and the conductivity of the envisioned electrode architectures will promote potassium diffusivity for fast-charging operation. POSIDON will deliver practical cells of HyKIB devices with high performance to pave the way towards the commercialization of potassium-based energy storage, which is vital for a low carbon, sustainable, and fossil-fuel-independent civilization.