Biomass-Derived Poly(Furfuryl Alcohol)-Protected Aluminum Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Aluminum is one of the promising alternative anode materials due to its high specific capacity. However, some critical problems seriously limit its practical applications, such as the low coulombic efficiency and poor cycle performance resulting from the huge volume change during cycling. Herein, a novel poly(furfuryl alcohol)/carbon black binder composite is coated on the surface of aluminum foil as a robust and conductive protective layer to maintain the integrity of the hybrid aluminum anode. The results show that 150 cycles under the preset cutoff capacity loading of 400 mA h g(-1) are obtained and exhibit obvious advantages over a bare aluminum anode, which will crack after just 25 cycles. For full-cell testing paired with a LiFePO4 cathode, the cell using the hybrid aluminum anode has a better capacity retention against the unprotected aluminum anode.