Sustainable Polyvinyl Chloride‐Derived Soft Carbon Anodes for Potassium‐Ion Storage: Electrochemical Behaviors and Mechanism

Soft carbon is a promising anode material for potassium-ion batteries due to its favorable properties such as low cost, high conductivity, stable capacity, and low potential platform. Polyvinyl chloride, as a white pollutant, is a soft carbon precursor that can be carbonized at varying temperatures to produce soft carbons with controllable defect and crystal structures. This work investigates the effect of carbonization temperature on the crystalline structures of the obtained soft carbons. In situ Raman spectroscopy was used to elucidate the adsorption-intercalation charge storage mechanism of potassium ions in soft carbons. Soft carbons prepared at the temperature of 800 °C have a defect-rich, short-range ordered structure, which provides optimal intercalation and adsorption sites for potassium ions, resulting in a satisfactory capacity of 302 mAh g-1 . This work presents new possibilities for designing soft carbon materials from recycling plastics for potassium-ion batteries.