Sustainable and Robust Graphene Cellulose Paper Decorated with Lithiophilic Au Nanoparticles to Enable Dendrite-free and High-Power Lithium Metal Anode

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Lithium metal anodes (LMAs) offer high energy density for next-generation batteries but face challenges with lithium dendrite growth and volume changes.
• Existing strategies using 3D conductive skeletons can stabilize LMAs, but engineering renewable and lithiophilic scaffolds remains difficult.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a robust, renewable, and lithiophilic conductive scaffold for stable lithium metal anodes.
• To improve the practical viability of high-energy-density lithium metal batteries.

Main Methods:

• Developed a hybrid scaffold using renewable cellulose paper coated with reduced graphene oxide and decorated with lithiophilic gold nanoparticles.
• Utilized the scaffold's high surface area and lithiophilic properties to guide uniform lithium nucleation and spherical growth.
• Tested the performance of the engineered LMAs under high current densities and cycling conditions.

Main Results:

• The hybrid scaffold demonstrated uniform lithium nucleation and spherical growth within the 3D carbon matrix, mitigating dendrite formation.
• The cellulose paper provided mechanical strength, accommodating volume changes and reducing stress.
• The engineered LMAs achieved high Coulombic efficiency (97.2% after 60 cycles), an ultralong lifespan (1000 cycles), and ultralow overpotential (25 mV) at 10 mA/cm².

Conclusions:

• The developed renewable and lithiophilic scaffold strategy enables scalable design of versatile lithium hosts for highly stable lithium metal batteries.
• This approach offers a practical pathway towards the realization of feasible and high-performance lithium metal batteries.