Abstract
Developing high-capacity anodes is a must to improve the energy density of lithium batteries for electric vehicle applications. Alloy anodes are one promising option, but without pre-stored lithium, the overall energy density is limited by the low-capacity lithium metal oxide cathodes. Recently, lithium metal has been revived as a high-capacity anode, but faces several challenges owing to its high reactivity and uncontrolled dendrite growth. Here, we show a series of Li-containing foils inheriting the desirable properties of alloy anodes and pure metal anodes. They consist of densely packed LixM (M = Si, Sn, or Al) nanoparticles encapsulated by large graphene sheets. With the protection of graphene sheets, the large and freestanding LixM/graphene foils are stable in different air conditions. With fully expanded LixSi confined in the highly conductive and chemically stable graphene matrix, this LixSi/graphene foil maintains a stable structure and cyclability in half cells (400 cycles with 98% capacity retention). This foil is also paired with high-capacity Li-free V2O5 and sulfur cathodes to achieve stable full-cell cycling.
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Acknowledgements
Y.C. acknowledges the support from the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies, Battery Materials Research Program of the US Department of Energy. Y.L. acknowledges the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program.
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J.Z., G.Z. and Y.C. conceived the concept. J.Z. and G.Z. carried out the synthesis and performed materials characterization and electrochemical measurements. J.X., Y.J., L.L., Y.L., P.-C.H. and J.W assisted in the synthesis and characterization of electrode materials. K.L. conducted stress–strain tests. K.Y. and H.-M.C. provided important experimental insights. J.Z., G.Z., K.Y., Y.L., H.-M.C. and Y.C. co-wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Zhao, J., Zhou, G., Yan, K. et al. Air-stable and freestanding lithium alloy/graphene foil as an alternative to lithium metal anodes. Nature Nanotech 12, 993–999 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.129
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.129
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