Self-Healing Polymer Electrolyte for Dendrite-Free Li Metal Batteries with Ultra-High-Voltage Ni-Rich Layered Cathodes

Two Birds with One Stone: Micro/Nanostructured SiOx Cy Composites for Stable Li-Ion and Li Metal Anodes

Developing stable silicon-based and lithium metal anodes still faces many challenges. Designing new highly practical silicon-based anodes with low-volume expansion and high electrical conductivity, and inhibiting lithium dendrite growth are avenues for developing silicon-based and lithium metal anodes, respectively. In this study, SiOx Cy microtubes are synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition method. As Li-ion battery anodes, the as-prepared SiOx Cy not only combines the advantages of nanomaterials and the practical properties of micromaterials, but also exhibits high initial Coulombic efficiency (80.3%), low volume fluctuations (20.4%), and high cyclability (98% capacity retention after 1000 cycles). Furthermore, SiOx Cy , as a lithium deposition substrate, can effectively promote the uniform deposition of metallic lithium. As a result, low nucleation overpotential (only 6.0 mV) and high Coulombic efficiency (≈98.9% after 650 cycles, 1.0 mA cm-2 and 1.0 mAh cm-2 ) are obtained on half cells, as well as small voltage hysteresis (only 9.5 mV, at 1.0 mA cm-2 ) on symmetric cells based on SiOx Cy . Full batteries based on both SiOx Cy and SiOx Cy @Li anodes demonstrate great practicality. This work provides a new perspective for the simultaneous development of practical SiOx Cy and dendrite-free lithium metal anodes.

Fluorinated Solid Electrolyte Interphase Derived From Fluorinated Polymer Electrolyte To Stabilize Li Metal

Unstable interface between highly reductive Li metal and a conventional liquid electrolyte leads to uncontrollable Li dendrites and Li pulverization, thus limiting the practical applications of Li metal batteries with high energy density. Herein, a fluorinated quasi-solid polymer electrolyte is synthesized to stabilize Li metal via the C-F/LiF enriched solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) derived from the fluorinated polymer skeleton. Benefiting from the homogenized ion plating/stripping process guided by lithophilic C-F and rapid Li+ transportation assisted by LiF, Li dendrites and Li pulverization are suppressed. As a result, the Li||Li symmetrical cell with the fluorinated quasi-solid polymer electrolyte remains stable over 1400 h at a current density of 0.3 mA cm-2 . LiNi0.8 Co0.1 Mn0.1 O2 ||Li battery delivers a long-term cycling performance, where the capacity retains 87.77 % of its initial state after 300 cycles at 0.5 C in the voltage range from 2.8 to 4.4 V.

Phase-Changeable Dynamic Conformal Electrode/electrolyte Interlayer enabling Pressure-Independent Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries

Lithium-metal-based solid-state batteries (Li-SSBs) are one of the most promising energy storage devices due to their high energy densities. However, under insufficient pressure constraints (<MPa-level), Li-SSBs usually exhibit poor electrochemical performances owing to the continuous interfacial degradation between the solid-state electrolyte (SSE) and electrodes. Herein, a phase-changeable interlayer is developed to construct the self-adhesive and dynamic conformal electrode/SSE contact in Li-SSBs. The strong adhesive and cohesive strengths of the phase-changeable interlayer enable Li-SSBs to resist up to 250 N pulling force (=1.9 MPa), affording Li-SSBs ideal interfacial integrality even without extra stack pressure. Remarkably, this interlayer exhibits a high ionic conductivity of 1.3 × 10^-3 S cm^-1 , attributed to the shortened steric solvation hindrance and optimized Li⁺ coordination structure. Furthermore, the changeable phase property of the interlayer endows Li-SSBs with a healable Li/SSE interface, accommodating the stress-strain evolution of the lithium metal and constructing the dynamic conformal interface. Consequently, the contact impedance of the modified solid symmetric cell exhibits a pressure-independent manner and does not increase over 700 h (0.2 MPa). The LiFePO₄ pouch cell with the phase-changeable interlayer shows 85% capacity retention after 400 cycles at a low pressure of 0.1 MPa.

A self-healing polymerized-ionic-liquid-based polymer electrolyte enables a long lifespan and dendrite-free solid-state Li metal batteries at room temperature

The implementation of high-safety Li metal batteries (LMBs) needs more stable and safer electrolytes. The solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) with their advantageous properties stand out for this purpose. However, low Li/electrolyte interfacial instability and uncontrolled Li dendrites growth trigger unceasing breakage of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), leading to fast capacity degradation. In response to these shortcomings, a new type of polymer electrolyte with self-healing capacity is introduced by grafting ionic liquid chain units into the backbones of polymers, which inherits the chemical inertness against the Li anode, allowing high Li⁺ transport, wide electrochemical window, and self-healing traits. Benefiting from the strong external H-bonding interactions, the obtained polymer electrolyte can spontaneously reconstruct dendrite-induced defects and fatigue crack growth at the Li/electrolyte interface, and, in turn, help tailor Li deposition. Owing to the resilient Li/electrolyte interface and dendrite-free Li plating, the equipped Li|LFP batteries display a high initial specific capacity of 134.7 mA h g^-1, rendering a capacity retention of 91.2% after 206 cycles at room temperature. The new polymer electrolyte will undoubtedly bring inspiration for developing practical LMBs with highly improved safety and interfacial stability.

Inhibiting Formation and Reduction of Li2 CO3 to LiCx at Grain Boundaries in Garnet Electrolytes to Prevent Li Penetration

Poor ion and high electron transport at the grain boundaries (GBs) of ceramic electrolytes are the primary reasons for lithium filament infiltration and short-circuiting of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASLMBs). Herein, it is discovered that Li₂ CO₃ at the GBs of Li₇ La₃ Zr₂ O₁₂ (LLZO) sheets is reduced to highly electron-conductive LiC_x during cycling, resulting in lithium penetration of LLZO. The ionic and electronic conductivity of the GBs within LLZO can be simultaneously tuned using sintered Li₃ AlF₆ . The generated LiAlO₂ (LAO) infusion and F-doping at the GBs of LLZO (LAO-LLZOF) significantly reduce the Li₂ CO₃ content and broaden the energy bandgap of LLZO, which decreases the electronic conductivity of LAO-LLZOF. LAO forms a 3D continuous ion transport network at the GB that significantly improves the total ionic conductivity. Lithium penetration within LLZO is suppressed and an all-solid-state LiFePO₄ /LAO-LLZOF/Li battery stably cycled for 5500 cycles at 3 C. This work reveals the chemistry of Li₂ CO₃ at the LLZO GBs during cycling, presents a novel lithium penetration mechanism within garnet electrolytes, and provides an innovative method to simultaneously regulate the ion and electron transport at the GBs in garnet electrodes for advanced ASLMBs.

Tailoring polymer electrolyte ionic conductivity for production of low- temperature operating quasi-all-solid-state lithium metal batteries

The stable operation of lithium-based batteries at low temperatures is critical for applications in cold climates. However, low-temperature operations are plagued by insufficient dynamics in the bulk of the electrolyte and at electrode|electrolyte interfaces. Here, we report a quasi-solid-state polymer electrolyte with an ionic conductivity of 2.2 × 10^-4 S cm^-1 at -20 °C. The electrolyte is prepared via in situ polymerization using a 1,3,5-trioxane-based precursor. The polymer-based electrolyte enables a dual-layered solid electrolyte interphase formation on the Li metal electrode and stabilizes the LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂-based positive electrode, thus improving interfacial charge-transfer at low temperatures. Consequently, the growth of dendrites at the lithium metal electrode is hindered, thus enabling stable Li||LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ coin and pouch cell operation even at -30 °C. In particular, we report a Li||LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ coin cell cycled at -20 °C and 20 mA g^-1 capable of retaining more than 75% (i.e., around 151 mAh g^-1) of its first discharge capacity cycle at 30 °C and same specific current.