In-situ growth of Ag particles anchored Cu foam scaffold for dendrite- free lithium metal anode

Metallic lithium is considered to be the potential anode for high energy density rechargeable Li batteries. Yet the growth of lithium dendrites impedes the industrial production of lithium metal batteries. Herein, we fabricate a dendrite-suppressed composite Li metal anode via introducing Ag particles as lithiophilic layer on the 3D copper foam (Cu-Ag). The Li ion prefers deposit on the surface of Cu-Ag foam, which is beneficial to the better adsorption of the Cu-Ag hierarchical heterojunction structure by the first-principles calculations. The heterojunction structure can further reduce the nucleation overpotential and surface current density of the composite Cu-Ag-Li anode to realize the homogeneous Li distribution for stable Li deposited/ stripped. Thus, the Cu-Ag-Li composite electrode (CAL) presents better electrochemical performance in the symmetric battery and excellent rate performance in the full cell with a greatly enhanced capacity retention of 83% after 500 cycles. This strategy presents a general approach to suppress the growth of lithium dendrites and regulate the volume changes for long-life span lithium metal batteries. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A composite Li metal anode with dendrite-suppressed properties was fabricated by introducing Ag particles as a lithiophilic layer on 3D copper foam. The heterojunction structure of Cu-Ag can reduce nucleation overpotential and surface current density, achieving homogeneous Li distribution for stable Li deposition/stripping and improving electrochemical performance. This strategy presents a general approach to suppress lithium dendrites growth and regulate volume changes, enhancing the long-life span of lithium metal batteries.