Interface chemistry of an amide electrolyte for highly reversible lithium metal batteries

Metallic lithium is a promising anode to increase the energy density of rechargeable lithium batteries. Despite extensive efforts, detrimental reactivity of lithium metal with electrolytes and uncontrolled dendrite growth remain challenging interconnected issues hindering highly reversible Li-metal batteries. Herein, we report a rationally designed amide-based electrolyte based on the desired interface products. This amide electrolyte achieves a high average Coulombic efficiency during cycling, resulting in an outstanding capacity retention with a 3.5 mAh cm^-2 high-mass-loaded LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ cathode. The interface reactions with the amide electrolyte lead to the predicted solid electrolyte interface species, having favorable properties such as high ionic conductivity and high stability. Operando monitoring the lithium spatial distribution reveals that the highly reversible behavior is related to denser deposition as well as top-down stripping, which decreases the formation of porous deposits and inactive lithium, providing new insights for the development of interface chemistries for metal batteries.