Li-Cu alloy with A preferred single crystal orientation (110) plane for inhibiting dendrite growth in anode-free lithium metal batteries

Abstract

A formidable challenge to enhance the cycle performance of Anode-Free Lithium Metal Batteries (AFLMBs) is to suppress the uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites. Preferred orientation is an effective solution to induce Li⁺ uniform deposition, however, there is a dearth of adjustment methods in anode-free lithium metal batteries. Herein, a lithium-copper (LiCu_x) alloy current collector was obtained, in which the lithium metal deposition on the current collector was aligned with the (110) single crystal plane, thereby facilitating the formation of dendrite free lithium deposits. The experimental results show that low-temperature alloying followed by an annealing treatment enables stable alloying of Li and Cu and induces the formation of (110) crystal plane. Consequently, the LiCu_x-250 alloy exhibits a stable lithium deposition/stripping more than 1100 ​h with a high Coulombic efficiency (98.42 ​%). Furthermore, the cycling performance of the LiFePO₄ full cell is markedly enhanced in comparison to that of bare copper. This work provides an important reference for solving the problem of lithium dendrites in anode-free lithium metal batteries.