A Powder Metallurgic Approach toward High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes

Kaiqiang Qin; Jesse Baucom; Deliang Liu; Wenyue Shi; Naiqin Zhao; Yunfeng Lu

doi:10.1002/smll.202000794

A Powder Metallurgic Approach toward High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes

Small. 2020 Jun;16(24):e2000794. doi: 10.1002/smll.202000794. Epub 2020 May 17.

Authors

Kaiqiang Qin¹, Jesse Baucom¹, Deliang Liu², Wenyue Shi¹, Naiqin Zhao³, Yunfeng Lu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composites and Functional Materials, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China.

PMID: 32419375
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202000794

Abstract

The development of lithium metal anodes capable of sustaining large volume changes, avoiding lithium dendrite formation, and remaining stable in ambient air is crucial for commercially viable lithium metal batteries. Toward this goal, the fabrication of porous and lithiophilic copper scaffolds via a powder metallurgy strategy is reported. Infiltrating the scaffolds with molten lithium followed by exposure to Freon R134a produces lithium metal anodes with dramatically improved rate performance and cycling stability. This work provides a simple yet effective route for the fabrication of safe, low-cost lithium metal batteries with high energy density.

Keywords: LiF coating, lithiophilicity; lithium metal anodes; powder metallurgic, porous copper.

Grants and funding

UCLA ENN Center for Nanomedicine and Energy Conversion