Utilizing Ultra-homogeneous SiO_x and Defects to Achieve Interlayer Protection for Lithium Metal Anodes

The uncontrollable growth and uneven nucleation of lithium metal can be addressed by utilizing spatial confinement structures in conjunction with lithiophilic sites. However, their complex fabrication technique and the inhomogeneous dispersion of lithiophilic sites make the application ineffective. In this work, ultra-uniformly dispersed SiO_x seeds and defects are produced in situ to achieve the spatially restricted protection within the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layer. The in situ formed SiO_x and defects during annealing double constrain lithium nucleation and growth behaviors thanks to the superlithiophilic characteristic, while both provide the fast Li⁺ transport channel to utilize the interlayer protection of rGO in limiting lithium dendrite growth. Furthermore, XANES and XPS analyze the SiO_x seeds that are dominated by various valence states, and theoretical calculations further verify the control on the nucleation of lithium atoms. Benefiting from the optimum average valence of three for the "control site", the host realizes steady circulation. In asymmetric cells, the host demonstrates excellent coulombic efficiency of 99.1% and stable lifespans over 1250 h at 1 mA cm^-2 . When assembled in LiFePO₄ full cells, it retains a favorable capacity of 116.2 mA h g^-1 after 170 cycles.