Regulating Lithium Plating and Stripping by Using Vertically Aligned Graphene/CNT Channels Decorated with ZnO...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Lithium (Li) metal anodes offer high theoretical capacity but suffer from dendrite formation, compromising cycling stability and safety in Li batteries.
• Controlling lithium deposition is crucial for enabling the commercial viability of high-energy-density lithium metal batteries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel carbon-based host material for lithium metal anodes that suppresses dendrite growth.
• To investigate the electrochemical performance and cycling stability of the developed host material in lithium batteries.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a graphene and carbon nanotube (CNT)-based host material (ZnO@G-CNT-C) with vertically aligned channels using an ice-templating method.
• Characterization of the material's structure, mechanical robustness, and lithium deposition behavior.
• Assembly and testing of full lithium batteries utilizing ZnO@G-CNT-C as the lithium host and LiFePO4 as the cathode.

Main Results:

• The ZnO@G-CNT-C material effectively guided lithium deposition onto channel inner walls, preventing dendrite formation and enhancing mechanical robustness.
• Electrodes demonstrated low polarization, fast ion diffusion, and high Coulombic efficiency over hundreds of cycles.
• Full cells achieved high specific capacity (155.9 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 C), excellent rate performance (91.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 4 C), and sustained cycling stability (109.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 C after 800 cycles).

Conclusions:

• The developed ZnO@G-CNT-C material serves as an effective host for stable lithium metal anodes, addressing critical safety and performance limitations.
• The templating methodology offers a scalable approach for creating advanced carbon-based electrodes for diverse energy storage applications.