Healable Lithium Alloy Anode with Ultrahigh Capacity

Effective recycling of spent Li metal anodes is an urgent need for energy/resource conservation and environmental protection, making Li metal batteries more affordable and sustainable. For the first time, we explore a unique sustainable healable lithium alloy anode inspired by the intrinsic healing ability of liquid metal. This lithium alloy anode can transform back to the liquid state through Li-completed extraction, and then the structure degradation generated during operation could be healed. Therefore, an ultralong cycle life of more than 1300 times can be successfully realized under harsh conditions of 5 mA h cm(-2) capacitance by a process of two healing behaviors. This design improves the sustainable utilization of Li metal to a great extent, bringing about unexpected effects in the field of lithium-based anodes even at an unprecedentedly high discharge current density (up to 25 mA cm(-2)) and capacity (up to 50 mA h cm(-2)).

Automated summary

The study introduces a unique sustainable healable lithium alloy anode design inspired by the intrinsic healing ability of liquid metal, achieving structure repair through two healing behaviors under harsh conditions for an ultralong cycle life. This design significantly improves the sustainable utilization of Li metal and brings unexpected effects in the field of lithium-based anodes.