Highly thermo-responsive and reversible thermal protection over depolymerizable complex for potassium-ion battery

Abstract

The poor interface compatibility and adverse safety concerns are enormous challenges for fabricating high temperature adaptative potassium ion batteries (PIBs) and beyond. To present, various protocols have been developed to enhance the thermal protection capacity, nevertheless, the one-time protection rather than the reversible protection or retarded thermal protection (above 120 °C) cause serious threaten for safety issues. Herein, (E)-4,4′-((diazene-1,2-diylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(azanediyl))bis(4-oxobutanoic acid) (OBA) grafted BiSbS₃ nanorods embedded into porous N-P co-doped carbon sheets (NPC), i.e. BiSbS₃/NPC-OBA with an excellent interface compatibility was designed serving as the state-of-the-art thermorunaway annihibitor toward reversible thermal protection. Both theoretical calculations and experimental trials manifest that such annihibitor undertakes the process of isomerization-polymerization-depolymerization highly driven by trans-to-cis transition, smartly switching-off the ion extrusion/extraction when approaching the thermorunaway temperature and restoring its original properties when cooled to room temperature. The other ingenious merits including fine low-temperature adaptability and long lifespan were also approached in such highly safe energy storage system. The deepened investigations on interface property and reversible thermal protection shed a new perspective on depolymerizable electrode fabrication toward advanced safe energy storage.