Stable cycling and low-temperature operation utilizing amorphous carbon-coated graphite anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

With the continuous expansion of the lithium-ion battery market, addressing the critical issues of stable cycling and low-temperature operation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has become an urgent necessity. The high anisotropy and poor kinetics of pristine graphite in LIBs contribute to the formation of precipitated lithium dendrites, especially during rapid charging or low-temperature operation. In this study, we design a graphite coated with amorphous carbon (GC) through the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method. The coated carbon layer at the graphite interface exhibits enhanced reaction kinetics and expanded lithium-ion diffusion pathways, thereby reduction in polarization effectively alleviates the risk of lithium precipitation during rapid charging and low-temperature operation. The pouch cell incorporating GC‖LiCoO2 exhibits exceptional durability, retaining 87% of its capacity even after 1200 cycles at a high charge/discharge rate of 5C/5C. Remarkably, at -20 °C, the GC-2 maintains a specific capacity of 163 mA h g-1 at 0.5C, higher than that of pristine graphite (65 mA h g-1). Even at -40 °C, the GC-2‖LiCoO2 pouch cell still shows excellent capacity retention. This design realizes the practical application of graphite anode in extreme environments, and have a promising prospect of application.

Stabilizing Lithium Metal Batteries by Synergistic Effect of High Ionic Transfer Separator and Lithium-Boron Composite Material Anode.

The development of lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) has been limited by problems, such as severe dendrite growth, drastic interfacial reactions, and large volume change. Herein, an LMB (8AP@LiB) combining agraphene oxide-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) functionalized polypropylene separator (8AP) with a lithium-boron (LiB) anode is designed to overcome these problems. Raman results demonstrate that the PEO chain on 8AP can influence the Li+ solvation structure in the electrolyte, resulting in Li+ homogeneous diffusion and Li+ deposition barrier reduction. 8AP exhibits good ionic conductivity (4.9 × 10-4 S cm-1), a high Li+ migration number (0.88), and a significant electrolyte uptake (293%). The 3D LiB skeleton can significantly reduce the anode volume changes and local current density during the charging/discharging process. Therefore, 8AP@LiB effectively regulates the Li+ flux and promotes the uniform Li deposition without dendrites. The Li||Li symmetrical cells of 8AP@LiB exhibit a high electrochemical stability of up to 1000 h at 1 mA cm-2 and 5 mAh cm-2. Importantly, the Li||LiFePO4 full cells of 8AP@LiB achieve an impressive 2000 cycles at 2C, while maintaining a high-capacity retention of 86%. The synergistic effect of the functionalized separator and LiB anode might provide a direction for the development of high-performance LMBs.