In situ formation of lithiophilic Li_(22)Sn_(5) alloy and high Li-ion conductive Li_(2)S/Li_(2)Se via metal chalcogenide SnSSe for dendrite-free Li metal anodes

Lithium metal has gained extensive attention as the most ideal candidate for next-generation battery anode owing to the ultrahigh specific capacity and the lowest electrochemical potential.However,uncontrollable dendrite growth and huge volume variation extremely restrict the future deployment of lithium metal batteries.Herein,we report metal chalcogenide SnSSe with unique nanoplate stacking structure as a robust substrate for stable Li metal anode.During the initial Li plating process,lithiophilic Li_(22)Sn_(5) alloy and Li_(2)S/Li_(2)Se sites are obtained via in-situ electrochemical reaction of Li metal and SnSSe.Density functional theory(DFT)calculation demonstrates that the formed Li_(2)S/Li_(2)Se achieves low Li diffusion energy barrier,ensuring rapid Li~+migration.Li_(22)Sn_(5) alloy provides strong nucleation sites,promoting uniform Li nucleation.Furthermore,in-situ optical microscopy analysis suggests that the synthesized effect fundamentally inhibits lithium dendrite growth.Consequently,SnSSe modified Cu foil delivered an ultralow nucleation overpotential,superior cycling stability with 450 cycles(Coulombic efficiency,>98%),and excellent plating/stripping behavior over 2200 h at 0.5 mA cm^(-2).Moreover,the brilliant reversible cycles and rate capability were also realized in Li@SnSSe//LiFePO_(4)(LFP)full cell,shedding light on the feasibility of SnSSe for stable and dendrite-free lithium metal anode.

In Situ Reaction Fabrication of a Mixed-Ion/Electron-Conducting Skeleton Toward Stable Lithium Metal Anodes

Lithium metal batteries are emerging as a strong candidate in the future energy storage market due to its extremely high energy density.However,the uncontrollable lithium dendrites and volume change of lithium metal anodes severely hinder its application.In this work,the porous Cu skeleton modified with Cu_(6)Sn_(5)layer is prepared via dealloying brass foil following a facile electroless process.The porous Cu skeleton with large specific surface area and high electronic conductivity effectively reduces the local current density.The Cu_(6)Sn_(5)can react with lithium during the discharge process to form lithiophilic Li_(7)Sn_(2)in situ to promote Li-ions transport and reduce the nucleation energy barrier of lithium to guide the uniform lithium deposition.Therefore,more than 300 cycles at 1 mA cm^(−2)are achieved in the half-cell with an average Coulombic efficiency of 97.5%.The symmetric cell shows a superior cycle life of more than 1000 h at 1 mA cm^(−2)with a small average hysteresis voltage of 16 mV.When coupled with LiFePO_(4)cathode,the full cell also maintains excellent cycling and rate performance.