ZnCo2O4/ZnO induced lithium deposition in multi-scaled carbon/nickel frameworks for dendrite-free lithium metal anode

Abstract

Abstract Lithium metal attracts growing attention as an ideal anode candidate for next generation lithium battery systems owing to its high capacity, low density, and low working potential. However, the volume expansion of the bulk and dendrite growth on the surface of lithium anode limits its practical application. Herein, we fabricate a composite lithium host featuring both multiple scaled structure and lithiophilic property to address obstacles at both aspects of bulk and surface simultaneously. In which, the multiple scaled structure provides void space to accommodate lithium volume change while zinc and cobalt oxides sites derived from Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks can react with lithium and form a stable solid electrolyte interphase, leading to a stable cycling of lithium symmetrical cell for more than 500 cycles with voltage hysteresis of only 88 mV at 2 mA cm−2 and 5 mAh cm−2. Moreover, full cells paired with LiFePO4 cathode can realize 500 cycles with 99.2% capacity retention, showing great potential for practical applications. The excellent electrochemical performance of the composite lithium anode proves the effectiveness of our anode design with multiple scaled structure and lithiophilic feature, which can be also expanded to other metal anodes for batteries.