Ferroelectric polarization accelerates lithium-ion diffusion for dendrite-free and highly-practical lithium-metal batteries. (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xue, Lanxin; Chen, Wei; Hu, Yin; Lei, Tianyu; Yang, Chengtao; Zhou, Mingjie; Zhang, Xing; Hu, Anjun; Li, Yaoyao; Wang, Xianfu; Xiong, Jie
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 79(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: Ferroelectric polarization -- BFO nanoparticles -- Lithium metal anodes -- Li–S batteries; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105481
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: Owing to the high specific capacity and lowest negative electrochemical potential, lithium metal as assembled with cathode materials such as sulfur, oxygen and so forth is regarded as a promising candidate for next-generation energy storage. However, the uncontrollable deposition of lithium ions (Li-ions) on anode surface tends to cause a disastrous surface passivation or soft short of battery during the long-term operation. One effective way to tackle this problem is controlling the nucleation and growth of lithium deposition by avoiding the formation of Li-ions barren areas near the electrode. In this work, a ferroelectric decoration layer of BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles with low energy barrier for Li-ion diffusion on commercial separator is applied to construct polarization field to accelerate the Li-ion migratory, which can effectively eliminate the barren areas of Li-ions near the surface of anode. The strong interfacial polarization between the BFO and Li-ions leads to a dense and smooth nucleation of lithium deposition, resulting in a long-term stability of lithium plating/stripping even at a low temperature of −10 °C in which the cells with BFO separator could deliver high Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 95 % at the current density of 0.5 mA cm −2 for 180cycles. Moreover, with high sulfur loading of 1000 mg/pouch cell, the Li–S pouch cell with BFO/PP separator could deliver specific capacity as high as 1408 mA h g −1 with 0.14% capacity decay per cycle even over 150 cycles. Our study demonstrates that BFO/PP separator can serve as the Li-ion booster to facilitate uniform lithium deposition to build highly-practical Li metal batteries. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: Inhibiting Li dendrites by adjusting the distribution of Li-ions within electrolyte. The polarized BiFeO3 nanoparticles can accelerate the transfer of Li-ions. Reducing the concentration gradient of Li-ions near the deposition surface. Highly-practical Li–S cell is achieved with a sulfur loading of 1000 mg/pouch cell.