College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China.
Nat Commun. 2020 Jan 24;11(1):488. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14358-1.
Metallic lithium anodes are highly promising for revolutionizing current rechargeable batteries because of their ultrahigh energy density. However, the application of lithium metal batteries is considerably impeded by lithium dendrite growth. Here, a biomacromolecule matrix obtained from the natural membrane of eggshell is introduced to control lithium growth and the mechanism is motivated by how living organisms regulate the orientation of inorganic crystals in biomineralization. Specifically, cryo-electron microscopy is utilized to probe the structure of lithium at the atomic level. The dendrites growing along the preferred < 111 > crystallographic orientation are greatly suppressed in the presence of the biomacromolecule. Furthermore, the naturally soluble chemical species in the biomacromolecules can participate in the formation of solid electrolyte interphase upon cycling, thus effectively homogenizing the lithium deposition. The lithium anodes employing bioinspired design exhibit enhanced cycling capability. This work sheds light on identifying substantial challenges in lithium anodes for developing advanced batteries.
金属锂负极由于其超高的能量密度，有望彻底革新现有的可充电电池。然而，锂枝晶的生长极大地阻碍了锂电池的实际应用。在这里，我们引入了一种来源于鸡蛋壳天然膜的生物大分子基质来控制锂的生长，其灵感来源于生物在生物矿化过程中如何调控无机晶体的取向。具体来说，我们利用低温电子显微镜在原子水平上探测锂的结构。在生物大分子的存在下，沿<111>择优取向生长的枝晶受到了极大的抑制。此外，生物大分子中天然可溶性的化学物质可以在循环过程中参与形成固体电解质界面相，从而有效均匀化锂的沉积。采用仿生设计的锂负极表现出增强的循环稳定性。这项工作为开发先进电池中解决锂负极的重大挑战提供了思路。
