In Situ Solid Electrolyte Interphase from Spray Quenching on Molten Li: A New Way to Construct High‐Performance Lithium‐Metal Anodes

Abstract

In response to the growing energy demand, over the past decades, lithium takes the hold of world's attention because it possesses huge energy density due to light weight, low electrode potential (−3.04 V vs standard hydrogen electrode), and large theoretical-specific capacity (3860 mAh g −1 ). [1][2][3][4] Stuck with the stagnation of traditional lithium-ion batteries, the future Uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites and low utilization of active Li severely hinder its practical application. Construction of an artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) onLi is demonstrated as one of the most effective ways to circumvent the above problems. Herein, a novel spray quenching method is developed in situ to fabricate an organic-inorganic composite SEI on Li metal. By spray quenching molten Li in a modified ether-based solution, a homogeneous and dense SEI consisting of organic matrix embedded with inorganic LiF and Li 3 N nanocrystallines (denoted as OIFN) is constructed on Li metal.Arising from high ionic conductivity and strong mechanical stability, the OIFN can not only effectively minimize the corrosion reaction of Li, but also greatly suppresses the dendrite growth. Accordingly, the OIFN-Li anode presents prominent electrochemical performance with an enhanced Coulombic efficiency of 98.15% for 200 cycles and a small hysteresis of <450 mV even at ultrahigh current density up to 10 mA cm −2 . More importantly, during the full cell test with limited Li source, a high utilization of Li up to 40.5% is achieved for the OIFN-Li anode. The work provides a brand-new route to fabricate advanced SEI on alkali metal for high-performance alkali-metal batteries.

Constructing a High‐Strength Solid Electrolyte Layer by In Vivo Alloying with Aluminum for an Ultrahigh‐Rate Lithium Metal Anode

“…Compared to the design of a 3D current collector/interlayer, this is a much easier but less‐reported approach to realize stable Li anode than the first approach. For example, an increased concentration of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt (LiFSI) in 1,2‐dimethoxyethane (DME) resulted in the growth of a LiF‐rich SEI and improved Li anode stability at 10 mA cm −2 , and Xia and co‐workers improved the Li anode stability (100 cycles at 10 mA cm −2 ) by constructing a LiF and Li 3 N‐rich artificial SEI . The latter strategy is often effective at current densities less than 10 mA cm −2 because the low mechanical strength of the SEI produced from conventional electrolyte decomposition is unable to withstand large volume changes during Li stripping and plating ( Figure ) .…”

Single Atom Array Mimic on Ultrathin MOF Nanosheets Boosts the Safety and Life of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…For the growth of Li dendrites, the inhomogeneous and uncontrollable Li stripping and plating could trigger a sequence of side effects including severe electrolyte consumption, infinite volume change, formation of “dead” Li, and even internal short circuit induced by penetration of Li dendrites. Several strategies have been proposed to address the issue of Li dendrites by in situ formed or ex situ artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) . However, the customized SEI layers on the surface of Li metal anode usually generate a high interfacial resistance between the electrolyte and anode, leading to large polarization and poor rate performance.…”

Self‐Stabilized and Strongly Adhesive Supramolecular Polymer Protective Layer Enables Ultrahigh‐Rate and Large‐Capacity Lithium‐Metal Anode

“…However,t hese in-situformed artificial layers suffer from poor mechanical stability and cannot enable the stable cycling at high current densities (more than 1mAcm À2 ). [14] In contrast, ex-situ formation, achieved by drop-casting, [15] spin-coating, [16] atomic-layer deposition, [17] molecular-layer deposition, [18] Langmuir-Blodgett scooping, [19] amongst others,c an provide ah ighly controllable protective layer in terms of its thickness, mechanical strength, and flexibility.S of ar,d ifferent materials,i ncluding inorganic material, [20,21] carbonaceous film, [22,23] and polymers, [16,24] organic and dual-or multi-phase hybrids, [25][26][27] have been fabricated on the Li metal surface. However,t he tedious and rigorous fabrication process renders the carbonaceous protective layers far from the practical applications.F urthermore,t he interfacial contact issue between Li metal and inorganic coating layers is still unresolved.…”