Carbon/Lithium Composite Anode for Advanced Lithium Metal Batteries: Design, Progress, In Situ Characterization, and Perspectives

Abstract

The lithium metal anode is a competitive candidate for next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries for its low redox potential and ultra‐high theoretical specific capacity. Nevertheless, obstacles regarding heterogeneous lithium deposition, dendrite growth, and poor Coulombic efficiency limit its practical application. Among rational electrode designs, carbon materials have been regarded as feasible hosts for stabilizing lithium to address the above issues due to their light weight, high conductivity, and adjustable physicochemical properties. Therefore, tremendous efforts have been made to design stereoscopic carbon materials with multitudinous lithiophilic sites and large specific surface areas to facilitate rapid lithium‐ion flux, nucleation and mitigate lithium dendrite formation by controlling the kinetics of lithium deposition. Furthermore, the mechanism of lithium plating/stripping is commendably elucidated with the help of advanced in situ characterization techniques. This progress report systematically reviews progress in carbon materials/lithium composite anodes for lithium metal batteries and the detailed parts are as follows: 1) carbon/lithium composite methods; 2) design lithiophilic mechanism; 3) various carbon materials substrates; 4) advanced in situ characterization techniques for lithium metal anodes; and 5) prospects toward the practical applications of advanced lithium metal batteries. This review provides new insights into lithium metal batteries’ technological development and practical application.

Assessing Coulombic Efficiency in Lithium Metal Anodes

“…A recent trend in recent papers has been to modify current collectors to improve lithium nucleation and growth behavior. ,,− Previously we have shown that the use of ZnO-coated Ni foam leads to the formation of a lower surface area lithium and overall leads to better electrochemical performance . Yet, achieving maximum electrochemical performance requires the optimization of the ZnO layer thickness.…”

“…In this work, two alternative electrochemical methods, defined as “conventional” and “reservoir” ( vide infra ), have been used to investigate the evolution of the CE in ZnO-coated Ni foam current collectors for AFBs. The effect of the modification of the current collector and electrolyte solution on the electrochemical plating and stripping of metallic lithium has already been studied in half-cell setups. ,− Using three-dimensional (3D) structures coated with lithiophilic materials is an approach that has recently received considerable attention. , As studied previously, − a thin layer of ZnO on a 3D current collector influences the morphology of deposited lithium and improves electrochemical performance. Here, 3D Ni foam coated by ZnO was used to characterize the CE of LMBs and AFBs.…”

Inexhaustible natural celluloses in advanced Li–S batteries: a review

“…Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been previously considered as promising candidates for application in intermittent energy storage, due to their decent reversibility, high security, and superb energy efficiency. [6][7][8] However, LIBs, mostly based on the ion intercalation mechanism are now approaching their theoretical energy density of 300-350 W h kg À1 and can satisfy neither the large-scale energy storage scenario, [9][10][11] such as the power grids aforementioned, nor the prevailing electric vehicles. Hence, it is urgent to develop a powerful and reliable energy storage system on the way of exploiting and utilizing the natural energy resources with almost no carbon emission (Fig.…”

Pulsed Current Constructs 3DM Cu/ZnO Current Collector Composite Anode for Free-Dendritic Lithium Metal Batteries

“…Focusing on increasing the energy density of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), lithium metal with a high theoretical specific capacity (3860 mAh g −1 ) and low redox potential (−3.040 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode) have been extensively investigated [1][2][3][4]. However, uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth and dead lithium (inactive lithium) generation during repeated cycles lead to instability at the lithium metal anode interface, which results in a waste of lithium resources, a low Coulombic efficiency (CE), and even incurs safety hazards, which seriously restrict their practical applications [5][6][7][8].…”