Journal of Energy Chemistry

Journal of Energy Chemistry ›› 2023, Vol. 77 ›› Issue (2): 123-136.DOI: 10.1016/j.jechem.2022.10.026

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Lithiophilicity: The key to efficient lithium metal anodes for lithium batteries

Yahao Lia, Yue Lia, Lulu Zhanga, Huachao Taoa, Qingyu Lib,*, Jiujun Zhangc,d,*, Xuelin Yanga,*   

  1. aHubei Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for New Energy Microgrid, College of Electrical Engineering & New Energy, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, Hubei, China;
    bGuangxi Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Energy Materials, School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541004, Guangxi, China;
    cCollege of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, Fujian, China;
    dDepartment of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1W5, Canada
  • Received:2022-07-05 Revised:2022-10-18 Accepted:2022-10-18 Online:2023-02-15 Published:2023-03-09
  • Contact: * E-mail addresses: liqingyu62@126.com (Q. Li), jiujun.zhang@i.shu.edu.cn (J. Zhang), xlyang@ctgu.edu.cn (X. Yang).
  • About author:Yahao Li received his M.S. degree in Chemistry from Chongqing University in 2014 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2018. Then he worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at Zhejiang University from 2019 to 2021. He is now an assistant professor at China Three Gorges University. His current research interests focus on electrode materials for next-generation sec-ondary batteries.
    Yue Li received her Bachelor's degree in Electrical engineering from Anhui Polytechnic University in 2020. She is now studying for a Master's degree at the College of Electrical Engineering and New Energy, China Three Gorges University. Her research interests are in lithium metal batteries.
    Lulu Zhang received her M.S. degree in Applied Chem-istry from Central South University in 2001 and received her Ph.D. degree in Materials Science from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2012. She is now a professor at China Three Gorges University. Her current research interests focus on electrode materials for new secondary batteries.
    Huachao Tao received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Science and Technology Beijing in 2013. He is currently an associate professor at China Three Gorges University. His research interests focus on electrode materials for lithium/ sodium/zinc-ion batteries and solid-state sodium-ion batteries.
    Qingyu Li is a professor at the School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Guangxi Normal University, leader of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Energy Materials, Guangxi New Energy Ship Battery Engineering Technology Research Center, Guangxi Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Pilot Research Base of Electrochemical Energy Materials and Devices. He received his Ph.D. in non-ferrous metallurgy from Central South University in 2003. He is a committee member of the Chinese Society of Electrochemistry (CSE) and a board commit-tee member of the International Academy of Electro-chemical Energy Science (IAOEES). His researches aim to bring technological innovations and practical applications for materials and new energy. More specif-ically, his current works focus on (a) new energy material-based energy storage systems, including batteries and supercapacitors; and (b) functional materials for energy conservation and environmental protection, particularly for aluminum electrolysis and battery recycling.
    Jiujun Zhang is a Professor at Shanghai University & Fuzhou University. Dr. Zhang received his B.S. and M.Sc. in Electrochemistry from Peking University in 1982 and 1985, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Electrochemistry from Wuhan University in 1988. Dr. Zhang's expertise areas are electrochemistry, electrocatalysis, fuel cells, batteries, supercapacitors, and water/CO 2 electrolysis. Xuelin Yang received his Ph.D. from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007. He now works at China Three Gorges University for new energy storage materials as a project leader. He is currently a professor at China Three Gorges Univer-sity. His research interests focus on novel electrode materials and their applications in energy-storage areas.

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Abstract: Lithium metal anode of lithium batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, has been considered the anode for next-generation batteries with desired high energy densities due to its high theoretical specific capacity (3860 mA h g-1) and low standards electrode potential (-3.04 V vs. SHE). However, the highly reactive nature of metallic lithium and its direct contact with the electrolyte could lead to severe chemical reactions, leading to the continuous consumption of the electrolyte and a reduction in the cycle life and Coulombic efficiency. In addition, the solid electrolyte interface formed during battery cycling is mainly inorganic, which is too fragile to withstand the extreme volume change during the plating and stripping of lithium. The uneven flux of lithium ions could lead to excessive lithium deposition at local points, resulting in needle-like lithium dendrites, which could pierce the separator and cause short circuits, battery failure, and safety issues. In the last five years, tremendous efforts have been dedicated to addressing these issues, and the most successful improvements have been related to lithiophilicity optimizations. Thus, this paper comprehensively reviewed the lithiophilicity regulation in lithium metal anode modifications and highlighted the vital effect of lithiophilicity. The remaining challenges faced by the lithiophilicity optimization for lithium metal anodes are discussed with the proposed research directions for overcoming the technical challenges in this subject.

Key words: Lithium metal anode, Lithiophilicity optimization, Host, Artificial SEI, Nucleation sites, Dendrite growth