Application of electrodeposited Cu-metal nanoflake structures as 3D current collector in lithium-metal batteries

Since uncontrolled lithium (Li) dendrite growth and dendrite-induced dead Li severely limit the development of Li metal batteries, 3D Cu current collectors can effectively alleviate these problems during Li plating/stripping. Herein, one-step galvanostatic electrodeposition method is employed to fabricate a new current collector on Cu foam decorated with large-scale and uniform 3D porous Cu-based nanoflake (NF) structures (abbreviated as 3D Cu NF@Cu foam). This 3D structure with large internal surface areas not only generates lithophilic surface copper oxides and hydroxides as charge centers and nucleation sites for Li insertion/extraction, but also endows abundant space with interlinked NFs for buffering the cell volume expansion and increasing battery performance. As a result, Li-deposited 3D Cu NF@Cu foam current collector can realize stable cycling over 455 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 98.8% at a current density of 1.0 mA cm^-2, as well as a prolonged lifespan of >380 cycles in symmetrical cell without short-circuit, which are superior to those of blank Cu foam current collector. This work realizes Li metal anode stabilization by constructing 3D porous Cu NFs current collectors, which can advance the development of Li metal anode for battery industries.