Nature Communications (Sep 2023)

Interfacial friction enabling ≤ 20 μm thin free-standing lithium strips for lithium metal batteries

  • Shaozhen Huang,
  • Zhibin Wu,
  • Bernt Johannessen,
  • Kecheng Long,
  • Piao Qing,
  • Pan He,
  • Xiaobo Ji,
  • Weifeng Wei,
  • Yuejiao Chen,
  • Libao Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41514-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract A practical high-specific-energy Li metal battery requires thin (≤20 μm) and free-standing Li metal anodes, but the low melting point and strong diffusion creep of lithium metal impede their scalable processing towards thin-thickness and free-standing architecture. In this paper, thin (5 to 50 μm) and free-standing lithium strips were achieved by mechanical rolling, which is determined by the in situ tribochemical reaction between lithium and zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP). A friction-induced organic/inorganic hybrid interface (~450 nm) was formed on Li with an ultra-high hardness (0.84 GPa) and Young’s modulus (25.90 GPa), which not only enables the scalable process mechanics of thin lithium strips but also facilitates dendrite-free lithium metal anodes by inhibiting dendrite growth. The rolled lithium anode exhibits a prolonged cycle lifespan and high-rate cycle stability (in excess of more than 1700 cycles even at 18.0 mA cm−2 and 1.5 mA cm−2 at 25 °C). Meanwhile, the LiFePO4 (with single-sided load 10 mg/cm2) ||Li@ZDDP full cell can last over 350 cycles with a high-capacity retention of 82% after the formation cycles at 5 C (1 C = 170 mA/g) and 25 °C. This work provides a scalable approach concerning tribology design for producing practical thin free-standing lithium metal anodes.