Stable Lithium Metal Anode Achieved by In Situ Grown CuO Nanowire Arrays on Cu Foam

Lithium is deemed as the anticipated anode for the next-generation energy storage system. Nevertheless, its commercial application is greatly hindered by the uneven deposition and volume expansion in the process of lithium plating and stripping. Here, a three-dimensional lithiophilic current collector with in situ grown CuO nanowire arrays on Cu foam has been demonstrated to effectively ameliorate the above problems. Beneficial from the large specific surface area and lithiophilicity properties, CuO nanowire arrays prominently diminish the local current density and nucleation overpotential, resulting in uniform lithium deposition. Moreover, the optimized anode exhibits a prolonged lifespan for more than 280 cycles at 0.5 mA cm(-2) and a high coulombic efficiency of 95.5% for over 150 cycles at 3 mA cm(-2) in an assembled half cell, which is maintained steadily for 540 h in a symmetric cell with good capacity retention capabilities in a full cell. This facile approach provides a feasible strategy to realize stable lithium deposition and a high-performance lithium metal anode.