Bending-Tolerant Anodes for Lithium-Metal Batteries

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Conformal electronics require bendable energy-storage systems with high energy density.
• Lithium-metal batteries offer higher theoretical energy density than lithium-ion batteries but face challenges with lithium anode dendrite formation.
• Bending conditions exacerbate lithium dendrite growth and filament pulverization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create bending-tolerant lithium-metal anodes for flexible energy storage.
• To enhance the cycling stability of lithium-metal batteries under bending conditions.
• To demonstrate the application of these anodes in bendable lithium-sulfur and lithium-oxygen batteries.

Main Methods:

• Integrating lithium metal into bendable reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) scaffolds.
• Utilizing the r-GO scaffold to dissipate bending stress and provide a surface for homogeneous lithium plating.
• Minimizing volume fluctuations of lithium electrodes during battery cycling.

Main Results:

• The r-GO/Li-metal composite anodes exhibited significantly improved cycling performance under bending.
• Bendable lithium-sulfur and lithium-oxygen batteries with long cycling stability were successfully realized.
• A bendable integrated solar cell-battery system and a series-connected bendable battery pack were demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• The developed bending-tolerant r-GO/Li-metal anode is crucial for advancing flexible energy storage.
• This anode design facilitates the development of stable, high-performance bendable batteries.
• The approach holds promise for future bendable energy systems by combining with advanced electrolytes and cathodes.