RESUMO
Potassium batteries show interesting peculiarities as large-scale energy storage systems and, in this scenario, the formulation of polymer electrolytes obtained from sustainable resources or waste-derived products represents a milestone activity. In this study, a lignin-based membrane is designed by crosslinking a pre-oxidized Kraft lignin matrix with an ethoxylated difunctional oligomer, leading to self-standing membranes that are able to incorporate solvated potassium salts. The in-depth electrochemical characterization highlights a wide stability window (up to 4â V) and an ionic conductivity exceeding 10-3 â S cm-1 at ambient temperature. When potassium metal cell prototypes are assembled, the lignin-based electrolyte attains significant electrochemical performances, with an initial specific capacity of 168â mAh g-1 at 0.05â A g-1 and an excellent operation for more than 200â cycles, which is an unprecedented outcome for biosourced systems in potassium batteries.