Three-dimensional (3D) lithiophilic host is one of the most effective ways to regulate the Li dendrites and volume change in working Li metal anode. The state-of-the-art 3D lithiophilic hosts are facing one main challenge in that the lithiophilic layer would melt or fall off in high-temperature environment when using the thermal infusion method. Herein, a 3D porous CuZn alloy host containing anchored lithiophilic Zn sites is employed to prestore Li using the thermal infusion strategy, and a 3D composite Li is thus fabricated. Benefiting from the lithiophilic Zn sites with a strong adsorption capacity with Li, which is based on the analyses of the nucleation overpotential, binding energy calculation, and the operando optical observation of Li plating/stripping behaviors, facile uniform Li nucleation and dendrite-free Li deposition could be achieved in the interior of the 3D porous CuZn alloy host and the 3D composite Li shows remarkable enhancement in electrochemical performance.
Keywords: Lithium metal anode; lithiophilic Zn sites; lithium dendrites; porous CuZn alloy; uniform Li nucleation.