Dendrite-Free and Ultra-Long-Life Lithium Metal Anode Enabled via a Three-Dimensional Ordered Porous Nanostructure

Constructing a stable non-dendritic lithium metal anode is the key to the development of high-energy batteries in the future. Herein, we fabricated nitrogen-doped carbon photonic crystals in situ in the macropores of carbon papers as a porous skeleton and confined hosts for metallic lithium. The large specific surface area of the carbon photonic crystal reduces the current density of the electrode. The three-dimensional ordered microstructure promotes uniform charge distribution and uniform lithium deposition and inhibits the volume expansion of metallic lithium. The as-prepared lithium metal anode exhibits prominent electrochemical performance with a small hysteresis of less than 95 mV beyond 180 cycles at an extremely high current density of 15 mA cm^-2. When the as-prepared lithium metal anode is coupled with the sulfur cathode, the obtained full cell displays enhanced capacitive properties and cycle life. Compared with the bare Li anode, the full cell exhibits more than 300 cycles of cell life and a 70 mA h g^-1 higher discharge capacity.