Free-standing ultrathin lithium metal–graphene oxide host foils with controllable thickness for lithium batteries

Thin (≤20 μm) and free-standing Li metal foils would enable precise prelithiation of anode materials and high-energy-density Li batteries. Existing Li metal foils are too thick (typically 50 to 750 μm) or too mechanically fragile for these applications. Here, we developed a facile and scalable proce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature energy 2021-08, Vol.6 (8), p.790-798
Main Authors: Chen, Hao, Yang, Yufei, Boyle, David T., Jeong, You Kyeong, Xu, Rong, de Vasconcelos, Luize Scalco, Huang, Zhuojun, Wang, Hansen, Wang, Hongxia, Huang, Wenxiao, Li, Huiqiao, Wang, Jiangyan, Gu, Hanke, Matsumoto, Ryuhei, Motohashi, Kazunari, Nakayama, Yuri, Zhao, Kejie, Cui, Yi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anodes
Batteries
Electrode materials
Fabrication
Graphene
Graphite
Lithium
Lithium batteries
Lithium ions
Mechanical properties
Metal foils
Metals
Silicon
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Summary:Thin (≤20 μm) and free-standing Li metal foils would enable precise prelithiation of anode materials and high-energy-density Li batteries. Existing Li metal foils are too thick (typically 50 to 750 μm) or too mechanically fragile for these applications. Here, we developed a facile and scalable process for the synthesis of an ultrathin (0.5 to 20 μm), free-standing and mechanically robust Li metal foil within a graphene oxide host. In addition to low areal capacities of ~0.1 to 3.7 mAh cm−2, this Li foil also has a much-improved mechanical strength over conventional pure Li metal foil. Our Li foil can improve the initial Coulombic efficiency of graphite (93%) and silicon (79.4%) anodes to around 100% without generating excessive Li residue, and increases the capacity of Li-ion full cells by 8%. The cycle life of Li metal full cells is prolonged by nine times using this thin Li composite anode.Thin Li foils are desirable for high-energy Li battery applications. Here, Cui and team devise a fabrication route for ultrathin (less than 20 μm) Li foils that show promise for improving existing anodes including silicon, graphite and metallic Li.
ISSN:2058-7546
2058-7546
DOI:10.1038/s41560-021-00833-6