In-situ formation of a nanoscale lithium aluminum alloy in lithium metal for high-load battery anode

The practical application of rechargeable lithium metal batteries is limited by inhomogeneous lithium deposition and infinite side reactions. In practical scenarios, the temperature of the battery increases, which may aggravate side reactions and decrease the battery efficiency significantly. Herein, we report a unique lithium thermal reduc-tion method for producing lithium-rich alloys from metal ethoxides. The uniformly distributed nanoscale Li-Al alloy in Li metal anodes can induce the uniform deposition of lithium metal and effectively inhibit side reactions. Therefore, the lithium rich alloy anode presents extremely low overpotential (5 mV) and cycles for 1000 h with no short circuit at the range of 30-60 degrees C under 0.5 mA cm(-2) and 1 mAh cm(-2). When the anode is coupled with a commercial high loading LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode (8.8 mg cm(-2)), a capacity retention of 72% is obtained after 490 cycles at 30 degrees C. Furthermore, the cell matched with a higher mass loading LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode (21.6 mg cm(-2)) maintained a high coulombic efficiency of 99.5% and a stable cycle for 300 h at 60 degrees C.

Automated summary

A unique lithium thermal reduction method is used to produce lithium-rich alloys, which can effectively solve the problems of inhomogeneous lithium deposition and side reactions, improving the battery efficiency and cycle life.