Covalent Triazine Based Frameworks with Donor‐Donor‐π‐Acceptor Structures for Dendrite‐Free Lithium Metal Batteries

Abstract

The appearance of disordered lithium dendrites and fragile solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) significantly hinder the serviceability of lithium metal batteries. Herein, guided by theoretical predictions, a multi‐component covalent triazine framework with partially electronegative channels (4C‐TA0.5TF0.5‐CTF) is incorporated as a protective layer to modulate the interface stability of the lithium metal batteries. Notably, the 4C‐TA0.5TF0.5‐CTF with optimized electronic structure at the molecular level by fine‐tuning the local acceptor‐donor functionalities not only enhances the intermolecular interaction thereby providing larger dipole moment and improved crystallinity and mechanical stress, but also facilitates the beneficial effect of lithiophilic sites (C‐F bonds, triazine cores, C=N linkages and aromatic rings) to further regulate the migration of Li+ and achieve a uniform lithium deposition behavior as determined by various in‐depth in/ex situ characterizations. Due to the synergistic effect of multi‐component organic functionalities, the 4C‐TA0.5TF0.5‐CTF modified full cells perform significantly better than the common two/three‐component 2C‐TA‐CTF and 3C‐TF‐CTF electrodes, delivering an excellent capacity of 116.3 mAh g‐1 (capacity retention ratio: 86.8%) after 1000 cycles at 5 C and improved rate capability. This work lays a platform for the prospective molecular design of improved organic framework relative artificial SEI for highly stable lithium metal batteries.