Constructing Sn-Cu₂O Lithiophilicity Nanowires as Stable and High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) offer high energy density but suffer from Li dendrite growth and "dead Li" accumulation.
• These issues compromise electrochemical performance and pose significant safety risks, hindering LMB commercialization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a strategy for modifying 3D current collectors for Li metal anodes.
• To enhance the stability, safety, and charging speed of LMBs.

Main Methods:

• Constructed a lithiophilic Sn-Cu2O layer on copper foam (CF) with Cu nanowire arrays (SCCF) using electrodeposition and plasma reduction.
• Investigated the effect of the lithiophilic layer on Li nucleation, deposition, and dendrite suppression.

Main Results:

• The Sn-Cu2O layer demonstrated excellent lithiophilicity, reducing Li nucleation barriers and promoting uniform Li deposition.
• High surface area nanowires reduced local current density, effectively suppressing Li dendrite growth.
• Half and symmetric cells achieved high Coulombic efficiency (CE) and stable operation (>410 cycles, >1350 h). Full cells (LFP cathode) showed 90.6% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 5 C with 99.79% CE.

Conclusions:

• The modified 3D current collector strategy effectively addresses Li dendrite growth and dead Li issues in LMBs.
• The developed SCCF current collectors show great promise for constructing stable, safe, and fast-charging LMBs.