Self-Regulated Phenomenon of Inorganic Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphase for Lithium Metal Batteries.

Han, Bing; Feng, Dongyu; Li, Shuai; Zhang, Zhen; Zou, Yucheng; Gu, Meng; Meng, Hong; Wang, Chaoyang et al. · Nano Lett · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is crucial for suppressing Li dendrite growth in high-energy lithium metal (LiM) batteries. Unfortunately, the naturally formed SEI on the LiM anode surface in carbonate electrolytes cannot suppress Li dendrites, resulting in a continuous consumption of electrolytes and LiM during cycling. Artificial SEI normally lacks self-healing and self-regulating capability, gradually losing the effectiveness during cycling. In this work, we report the self-regulating phenomenon of LiRAP-ASEI that can effectively suppress Li dendrites and is investigated using in situ optical microscopy and COMSOL multiphysics simulation. The effectiveness of self-regulated LiRAP-ASEI is further evaluated in the most aggressive Li/sulfur cells with a lean electrolyte (10 μL mAh<sup>-1</sup>) and LiRAP-ASEI/LiM (2.5-fold excess of LiM). The LiRAP@Cu∥sulfur@C cells show a stable 3000 cycle life at a current density of 11.5 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>. The self-regulated phenomenon holds great promise for the development of high-energy-density LMBs.