Lithiophilic Heterostructure for Dendrite Suppression in a Lithium Metal Battery

Abstract

The introduction of lithiophilic materials at the electrode surface represents a promising strategy for suppressing dendrite growth in lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Previous studies have demonstrated that the electrode morphology plays a pivotal role in achieving uniform lithium deposition, thereby enhancing overall battery performance. Lithiophilic seeds have been integrated into various electrode geometries, including porous, mesh, wire, foam, and nanopatterned structures. However, prior research predominantly focused on utilizing single-component lithiophilic materials to guide selective lithium deposition at the targeted sites. In this study, we report for the first time the development of heterostructures containing multiple lithiophilic elements on a line-patterned electrode. These heterostructures demonstrate the superior influence of contrasting lithiophilicity compared to conventional single-component lithiophilic seed designs on the performance of LMBs. Our findings indicate that introducing heterostructures with multiple lithiophilic elements in a guiding patterned electrode effectively controls lithium deposition behavior. Among the various configurations examined, a line-patterned electrode composed of a platinum (Pt) substrate with U-shaped gold (Au) wells (Pt/Au-well), providing modest contrasting lithiophilicity, exhibited the longest cycle life. In contrast, configurations such as Au/Cu, characterized by high contrasting lithiophilicity, or a single-component Au structure lacking contrasting lithiophilicity, resulted in nonuniform lithium deposition. Both half-cell and full-cell cycling tests revealed significant performance improvements, with the Pt/Au-well structure achieving over 200 cycles at a current density of 2 mA cm-2 and a capacity of 2 mAh cm-2, exceeding the cycle life of single-component lithiophilic structures by more than 2.5 times. These findings offer a promising pathway for the design and optimization of advanced LMB components, underscoring the critical role of tailored surface functionalities in improving the lithium deposition behavior.