Han Bing, Zou Yucheng, Ke Ruohong, Li Tengteng, Zhang Zhen, Wang Chaoyang, Gu Meng, Deng Yonghong, Yao Jianquan, Meng Hong
School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen 518055, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 May 12;13(18):21467-21473. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c04196. Epub 2021 May 3.
As a promising high energy density electrode material for rechargeable batteries, lithium (Li) metal is still suffering from air/water instability due to its highly reactive nature. In addition, the Li dendrite issue in Li metal batteries needs to be resolved to ensure the safety of batteries and for wide applications. Herein, we demonstrate that a simple compact GaO layer formed using liquid metal (LM) can act as an artificial solid electrolyte interphase to block moisture and oxygen in the air from corroding the lithium metal. Interestingly, GaO that covered the electrode effectively inhibits Li dendrite growth in electrochemistry cycling, ensuring the safety of Li metal batteries. The exposed composite Li metal anode (exposed under ambient air with relative humidity (RA) ≈ 75% for 5 h) not only shows a superior stability (symmetrical cell) but also delivers an elevated cycling stability (>500 cycles at 0.5 and 1 C) with a sulfur@C cathode in the full-cell configuration. Our work provides a new pathway for the large-scale applications of the air/water-tolerant Li metal anode in rechargeable batteries.
作为一种有前景的用于可充电电池的高能量密度电极材料，锂（Li）金属因其高反应活性，仍面临空气/水不稳定性问题。此外，锂金属电池中的锂枝晶问题需要解决，以确保电池安全并实现广泛应用。在此，我们证明，使用液态金属（LM）形成的简单致密GaO层可作为人工固体电解质界面，阻止空气中的水分和氧气腐蚀锂金属。有趣的是，覆盖在电极上的GaO在电化学循环中有效抑制了锂枝晶的生长，确保了锂金属电池的安全。暴露的复合锂金属阳极（在相对湿度（RH）约为75%的环境空气中暴露5小时）不仅表现出优异的稳定性（对称电池），而且在全电池配置中与硫@碳阴极一起具有更高的循环稳定性（在0.5和1 C下超过500次循环）。我们的工作为耐空气/水的锂金属阳极在可充电电池中的大规模应用提供了一条新途径。
