Electroless Plating 3D Composite Current Collector for High-Performance Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Magnesium (Mg) metal batteries are crucial for high-energy-density rechargeable applications.
• Nonuniform Mg deposition leads to reduced cycle life and safety concerns in Mg batteries.
• Development of advanced current collectors is essential for stable Mg metal anode performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a three-dimensional (3D) current collector for uniform Mg deposition.
• To improve the cycling stability and safety of Mg metal batteries.
• To advance the practical application of high-energy-density Mg batteries.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a 3D current collector using copper-coated carbon cloth (Cu@CC) via electroless plating.
• Characterization of Cu@CC composite structures for porosity and magnesiophilicity.
• Electrochemical testing of Mg metal anodes with Cu@CC current collectors and full cells.

Main Results:

• The 3D Cu@CC current collectors demonstrated uniform Mg deposition, achieving over 2000 cycles with 99.84% average Coulombic efficiency (CE).
• Cu@CC enhanced anode-separator compatibility, enabling over 2000 cycles with 99.35% average CE.
• Full cells (Mg@Cu@CC//Mo₆S₈) showed excellent cycling stability, retaining 97.2% capacity after 1200 cycles, and pouch cells maintained 92.9% after 300 cycles.

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D Cu@CC current collector effectively addresses challenges of nonuniform Mg deposition.
• This advancement significantly improves the cycling performance and Coulombic efficiency of Mg metal batteries.
• The findings provide critical insights for the practical realization of high-energy-density Mg metal batteries.