Chemical Prelithiated 3D Lithiophilic/-Phobic Interlayer Enables Long-Term Li Plating/Stripping.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38937963.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acsnano.4c04507 and PMC identifier 11238590.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The up-to-date lifespan of zero-excess lithium (Li) metal batteries is limited to a few dozen cycles due to irreversible Li-ion loss caused by interfacial reactions during cycling. Herein, a chemical prelithiated composite interlayer, made of lithiophilic silver (Ag) and lithiophobic copper (Cu) in a 3D porous carbon fiber matrix, is applied on a planar Cu current collector to regulate Li plating and stripping and prevent undesired reactions. The Li-rich surface coating of lithium oxide (Li<sub>2</sub>O), lithium carboxylate (RCO<sub>2</sub>Li), lithium carbonates (ROCO<sub>2</sub>Li), and lithium hydride (LiH) is formed by soaking and directly heating the interlayer in <i>n</i>-butyllithium hexane solution. Although only a thin coating of ∼10 nm is created, it effectively regulates the ionic and electronic conductivity of the interlayer via these surface compounds and reduces defect sites by reactions of <i>n</i>-butyllithium with heteroatoms in the carbon fibers during formation. The spontaneously formed lithiophilic-lithiophobic gradient across individual carbon fiber provides homogeneous Li-ion deposition, preventing concentrated Li deposition. The porous structure of the composite interlayer eliminates the built-in stress upon Li deposition, and the anisotropically distributed carbon fibers enable uniform charge compensation. These features synergistically minimize the side reactions and compensate for Li-ion loss while cycling. The prepared zero-excess Li metal batteries could be cycled 300 times at 1.17 C with negligible capacity fading.