Facile fabrication of polyether sulfone (PES) protecting layer on Cu foil for stable Li metal anode. (10th January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fan, Wei; Zhang, Ruie; Wang, Zhifeng; Lei, Xiaofeng; Qin, Chunling; Liu, Xizheng
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 260(2018)
• Page Start: 407
• Page End: 412
• Publication Date: 2018-01-10
• Subjects: Li metal anode -- Dendrite -- Polyether sulfone -- Cycle stability -- Li batteries; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.12.085
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Abstract: Lithium metal has been considered as the most promising anode material for rechargeable Li batteries because of its high theoretical specific capacity. However, significant challenges, including Li dendrite growth, inferior rate and low Coulombic efficiency (CE), have prevented their practical applications. Here we report a facile strategy to improve the anode performance by decorating the Cu foil substrate with a nanoporous polyether sulfone (PES) film. After employing the PES layer, the Li plating/stripping stability has been dramatically improved to more than 800 h and the Coulombic efficiency kept higher than 99% even after 200 cycles. Moreover, the voltage gap between Li stripping and plating experienced no obvious changes after long time cycles. The Li dendrite formation have been effectively suppressed after PES coating. The PES coating layer also greatly improved the Li metal stability in ambient air. Graphical abstract: We propose a facile but effective strategy to prepare a polyether sulfone (PES) protecting layer on Cu foil for Li metal anode. With the PES layer, Li dendrite formation have been effectively suppressed, the Li deposition/striping performance has been dramatically improved. Highlights: The PES layer was deposited on Cu foil substrate to prohibit the Li dendrite formation. The facile fabrication process can be easily scale-up. The PES coating can dramatically improve the cycle stability and Coulombic efficiency.