Enhanced K‐storage kinetics for N‐doped carbon via controllable dedoping strategy

As a potential alternative to next‐generation LIBs, carbonous materials have garnered significant attention as anode materials for potassium‐ion batteries due to their low cost and environmental friendliness. However, carbonaceous materials cannot fulfill the demand of anode for PIBs, due to volume expansion and poor stability during charging/discharging process. It is well‐known that N doping can provide active sites for K‐storage, and expand the layer distance between graphite layers. Therefore, a simple one‐step pyrolysis strategy was proposed to synthesize different nitrogen‐doped carbon to investigate the effects of N‐doping and dedoping on K‐storage performance. Through the synergistic action of N‐doping and the carbon vacancy defects formed during the de‐doping process, which alleviated volume expansion and promoted K+ transport rate. As a result, the PNC demonstrate excellent electrochemical performance, showing good long‐term cycling stability (with a capacity of 195 mAh/g after 300 cycles at a current density of 200 mA/g) and outstanding rate performance. These findings provide valuable insights for the design and development of advanced anode materials with efficient potassium ion storage capabilities.