Surface Roughness-Independent Homogeneous Lithium Plating in Synergetic Conditioned Electrolyte

Up until now, dendritic Li growth during repeated plating/stripping reactions has been a significant hurdle for the commercialization of Li metal anode. This phenomenon is strongly related to the dead Li evolution, unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, and low Coulombic efficiency. However, existing reports on carbonate-based electrolytes, even with the addition of various additives, show no complete suppression of dendritic Li growth. Herein, we introduce a remarkably unique homogeneous Li growth induced by a combination of various solvents and a LiPF6 salt. This behavior was found to be independent of the surface roughness of the electrode and was confirmed by the operando visualization based on synchrotron X-ray and visible light sources. Moreover, its practical possibilities were validated by the uniform Li deposition on a three-dimensional Cu current collector and the electrochemical performance on various Li metal battery systems.

Automated summary

The growth of dendritic Li during repeated plating/stripping reactions has been a major obstacle for the commercialization of Li metal anode. However, this study introduces a novel approach using a combination of solvents and a LiPF6 salt to induce homogeneous Li growth, which shows promising potential for practical applications.