Premium
A Natural Biopolymer Film as a Robust Protective Layer to Effectively Stabilize Lithium‐Metal Anodes
Author(s) -
Zhang ShaoJian,
Gao ZhenGuang,
Wang WeiWei,
Lu YanQiu,
Deng YaPing,
You JinHai,
Li JunTao,
Zhou Yao,
Huang Ling,
Zhou XiaoDong,
Sun ShiGang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201801054
Subject(s) - anode , materials science , faraday efficiency , biopolymer , chemical engineering , lithium (medication) , cathode , metal , layer (electronics) , coating , composite material , electrode , metallurgy , chemistry , polymer , medicine , endocrinology , engineering
Li metal is considered as an ideal anode for Li‐based batteries. Unfortunately, the growth of Li dendrites during cycling leads to an unstable interface, a low coulombic efficiency, and a limited cycling life. Here, a novel approach is proposed to protect the Li‐metal anode by using a uniform agarose film. This natural biopolymer film exhibits a high ionic conductivity, high elasticity, and chemical stability. These properties enable a fast Li‐ion transfer and feasiblity to accomodate the volume change of Li metal, resulting in a dendrite‐free anode and a stable interface. Morphology characterization shows that Li ions migrate through the agarose film and then deposit underneath it. A full cell with the cathode of LiFPO 4 and an anode contaning the agarose film exhibits a capacity retention of 87.1% after 500 cycles, much better than that with Li foil anode (70.9%) and Li‐deposited Cu anode (5%). This study provides a promising strategy to eliminate dendrites and enhance the cycling ability of lithium‐metal batteries through coating a robust artificial film of natural biopolymer on lithium‐metal anode.