Potassium Metal as Reliable Reference Electrodes of Nonaqueous Potassium Cells

Potassium metal electrochemical cells are widely utilized to examine potassium insertion materials for nonaqueous potassium-ion batteries. However, large polarization during K plating-stripping and unstable rest potential are found at the potassium electrodes, which leads to an underestimation of the electrochemical performance of insertion materials. In this study, the electrochemical behavior of K-metal electrodes is systematically investigated. Electrolyte salts, solvents, and additives influence the polarization of K metals. Although a highly concentrated electrolyte of 3.9 M KN(SO2F)2/1,2-dimethoxyethane realizes the smallest polarization of 25 mV among all the electrolytes investigated in this study, the polarization of K metals is still larger than those of Li and Na metals. The issue of inaccurate rest potential is solved by pretreating the K electrodes with a plating-stripping process, which is essential in evaluating the intrinsic electrode performance of potassium insertion materials.