Extreme Fast Charging of Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by a Molten-Salt-Derived Nanocrystal Interphase

The extreme fast charging performance of lithium metal batteries (LMBs) with a long life is an important focus in the development of next-generation battery technologies. The friable solid electrolyte interphase and dendritic lithium growth are major problems. The formation of an inorganic nanocrystal-dominant interphase produced by preimmersing the Li in molten lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide that suppresses the overgrowth of the usual interphase is reported. Its high surface modulus combined with fast Li⁺ diffusivity enables a reversible dendrite-proof deposition under ultrahigh-rate conditions. It gives a record-breaking cumulative plating/stripping capacity of >240 000 mAh cm^-2 at 30 mA cm^-2@30 mAh cm^-2 for a symmetric cell and an extreme fast charging performance at 6 C for 500 cycles for a Li||LiCoO₂ full cell with a high-areal-capacity, thus expanding the use of LMBs to high-loading and power-intensive scenarios. Its usability both in roll-to-roll production and in different electrolytes indicating the scalable and industrial potential of this process for high-performance LMBs.