Issue 2, 2022

High-efficiency, anode-free lithium–metal batteries with a close-packed homogeneous lithium morphology

Abstract

Anode-free lithium–metal batteries (LMBs) are ideal candidates for high-capacity energy storage as they eliminate the need for a conventional graphite electrode or excess lithium–metal anode. Current anode-free LMBs suffer from low Coulombic efficiency (CE) due to poor lithium stripping efficiency. Advanced electrolyte development is a promising route to maximize lithium plating and stripping CE and minimize capacity fade. However, a poor understanding of the mechanisms by which advanced electrolytes improve performance hampers progress in the practical development of anode-free LMBs. Here, we use synchrotron techniques and other tools to analyze the influence of three commercially available electrolytes on the composition, heterogeneity, kinetics, morphology, and electrochemistry of anode-free LMBs. Advanced electrolytes improve the electrochemical performance of anode-free LMBs by forming much denser and better-packed Li morphologies on a Cu current collector than on the conventional electrolyte. Li plates uniformly over the electrode area with the advanced electrolytes rather than in a few active sites. Inactive crystalline Li with heterogeneous distribution dominates the capacity degradation of anode-free cells, especially with the conventional electrolyte, indicating that reducing the amount of “dead” crystalline Li will significantly improve the cycling stability of anode-free cells. The understanding of the Li plating and stripping process obtained from this work will accelerate the development of anode-free LMBs with high efficiency.

Graphical abstract: High-efficiency, anode-free lithium–metal batteries with a close-packed homogeneous lithium morphology

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Oct 2021
Accepted
06 Jan 2022
First published
06 Jan 2022

Energy Environ. Sci., 2022,15, 843-854

Author version available

High-efficiency, anode-free lithium–metal batteries with a close-packed homogeneous lithium morphology

L. Su, H. Charalambous, Z. Cui and A. Manthiram, Energy Environ. Sci., 2022, 15, 843 DOI: 10.1039/D1EE03103A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements