N/F co-doped carbon nanocages engineered with NF3 fluorination for use in highly stable potassium-ion batteries

Seongmin Ha (하성민); Go Bong Choi (최고봉); Chaehun Lim; Seongjae Myeong (명성재); Seoyeong Cheon (천서영); Young‑Seak Lee (이영석)

doi:10.1007/s42823-025-00885-8

N/F co-doped carbon nanocages engineered with NF3 fluorination for use in highly stable potassium-ion batteries

Carbon Letters
Abbr : Carbon Lett.
2025, 35(4), pp.1649~1658
DOI : 10.1007/s42823-025-00885-8
Publisher : Korean Carbon Society
Research Area : Natural Science > Natural Science General > Other Natural Sciences General
Received : December 23, 2024
Accepted : February 11, 2025
Published : December 11, 2025

Seongmin Ha ¹, Go Bong Choi ², Chaehun Lim ³, Seongjae Myeong ¹, Seoyeong Cheon ³, Young‑Seak Lee ³

¹충남대학교 응용화학공학과
²한국과학기술원
³충남대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

In this study, nitrogen and fluorine co-doped carbon nanocages (NF-CNCs) were synthesized as anode materials for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), and their structural evolution with heat treatment and electrochemical behavior with different functional groups was investigated. NF-CNCs were prepared by physically mixing coal tar pitch (CTP) with a SiO2 template, followed by heat treatment and subsequent fluorination with NF3 gas. A systematic investigation of the structural properties revealed that graphitization increased with increasing heat treatment temperature as the carbon structure transitioned from amorphous at 500 and 1000 °C to graphite-like at 1500 °C. Furthermore, nitrogen and fluorine functional group analysis revealed significant changes, particularly in terms of covalent and semi-ionic C‒F bonds. Among the samples, NF-CNC 1000 displayed excellent electrochemical performance, with a specific capacity of 395.1 mAh g−1 and a capacity retention rate of 94% during 1000 cycles at 50 mA g−1. The exceptional performance of NF-CNC 1000 is attributed to its high porosity, amorphous carbon structure, and semi-ionic C‒F bonds, which facilitate the efficient adsorption and intercalation of potassium ions. These findings provide valuable insights into the design of advanced anode materials for next-generation KIBs.

KEYWORDS

NF3 fluorination, Carbon nanocage (CNC), Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), Carbon-based anode

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This is the result of checking the information with the same ISSN, publication year, volume, and start page between the WoS and the KCI journals. (as of 2026-07-09)

Total Citation Counts(KCI+WOS) (15) This is the number of times that the duplicate count has been removed by comparing the citation list of WoS and KCI.

* References for papers published after 2025 are currently being built.

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Carbon Letters 2025 KCI Impact Factor : 0.73 KCI-WoS Impact Factor : 6.26

N/F co-doped carbon nanocages engineered with NF3 fluorination for use in highly stable potassium-ion batteries

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Citation status

This is the result of checking the information with the same ISSN, publication year, volume, and start page between the WoS and the KCI journals. (as of 2026-07-09)

Total Citation Counts(KCI+WOS) (15) This is the number of times that the duplicate count has been removed by comparing the citation list of WoS and KCI.

* References for papers published after 2025 are currently being built.

Carbon Letters 2025 KCI Impact Factor : 0.73 KCI-WoS Impact Factor : 6.26

N/F co-doped carbon nanocages engineered with NF3 fluorination for use in highly stable potassium-ion batteries

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WoS Citation Counts (15) This is the result of checking the information with the same ISSN, publication year, volume, and start page between the WoS and the KCI journals. (as of 2026-07-09)

Total Citation Counts(KCI+WOS) (15) This is the number of times that the duplicate count has been removed by comparing the citation list of WoS and KCI.

REFERENCES (31) * References for papers published after 2025 are currently being built.

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This is the result of checking the information with the same ISSN, publication year, volume, and start page between the WoS and the KCI journals. (as of 2026-07-09)

* References for papers published after 2025 are currently being built.