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Langmuir–Blodgett artificial solid-electrolyte interphases for practical lithium metal batteries

Abstract

Practical lithium metal batteries require full and reversible utilization of thin metallic Li anodes. This introduces a fundamental challenge concerning how to create solid-electrolyte interphases (SEIs) that are able to regulate interfacial transport and protect the reactive metal, without adding appreciably to the cell mass. Here, we report on physicochemical characteristics of Langmuir–Blodgett artificial SEIs (LBASEIs) created using phosphate-functionalized reduced graphene oxides. We find that LBASEIs not only meet the challenges of stabilizing the Li anode, but can be facilely assembled in a simple, scalable process. The LBASEI derives its effectiveness primarily from its ability to form a durable coating on Li that regulates electromigration at the anode/electrolyte interface. In a first step towards practical cells in which the anode and cathode capacities are matched, we report that it is possible to achieve stable operations in both coin and pouch cells composed of a thin Li anode with the LBASEI and a high-loading intercalation cathode.

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Fig. 1: LBASEI designs and fabrication processes for the LBASEI Li electrode.
Fig. 2: Interactive sites of the lithium on the LBASEI.
Fig. 3: Lithium nucleation overpotential analysis for the LBASEIs.
Fig. 4: Electrochemical properties of the LBASEI.
Fig. 5: Li migration properties of the LBASEI.
Fig. 6: Electrochemical performance of the LBASEI Li.
Fig. 7: Electrochemical performance of the full cell with defined n/p ratios.

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Data availability

The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2016M1B3A1A01937324) and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Institutional Program (Project No. 2E28141). L.A.A. also acknowledges support from the US Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E) through award #DE-AR0000750. D. thanks Virtual lab www.vfab.org for the Cloud Computing Interface and the KIST supercomputing facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

M.S.K., L.A.A. and W.I.C. designed and conceptualized the study. J.-H.R. prepared Langmuir–Blodgett artificial SEIs on specified substrates and provided technical support. D. performed density functional theory calculations for the Li atom binding energies and the charge density analysis on the specified species and atomic structures. Y.R.L. and I.W.N. prepared graphene oxides and helped with XPS experiments. K.-R.L supervised the computational study. W.I.C and L.A.A supervised the overall study. M.S.K performed all the experiments, characterization and analysis and wrote the manuscript. All the authors discussed the manuscript and provided comments.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Lynden A. Archer or Won Il Cho.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Notes 1–6, Supplementary Figures 1–11, Supplementary References, Supplementary Videos 1–2

Video 1

Demonstration of Langmuir Blodgett Scooping as a scalable, continuous process for fabricating artificial solid electrolyte interphases (ASEI) on a metallic substrate.

Video 2

Illustration of the roll-coating method used to transfer LBASEI from a copper substrate onto a metallic Lithium electrode.

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Kim, M.S., Ryu, JH., Deepika et al. Langmuir–Blodgett artificial solid-electrolyte interphases for practical lithium metal batteries. Nat Energy 3, 889–898 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0237-6

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