Dual Structure-Material Design of Separators toward Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Anodes

Zhengkang Su; Biao Wang; Linyan Li; Guang Yang; Aishui Yu; Guang Li; Jingjing Zhang

doi:10.1002/cssc.202201352

Dual Structure-Material Design of Separators toward Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Anodes

ChemSusChem. 2022 Oct 21;15(20):e202201352. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202201352. Epub 2022 Sep 15.

Authors

Zhengkang Su¹, Biao Wang¹, Linyan Li², Guang Yang², Aishui Yu³, Guang Li¹, Jingjing Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, P. R. China.
² Shanghai Aerospace Power Technology Co., LTD, Shanghai, 201112, P.R. China.
³ Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Institute of New Energy, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, P. R. China.

PMID: 36000791
DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202201352

Abstract

The practical applications of lithium metal anodes have been severely hindered by the Li dendrite issue. Herein, a dual structure-material design strategy was developed to fabricate a new type of separator using interconnected hollow porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers (HPPANF), which delivered controllable and dendrite-free Li depositions. The interconnected mesopores on HPPANF bridged the hollow interiors with the outside voids among the fibers, enabling outstanding electrolyte uptake capabilities for high ion conductivity, and nano-level wetted electrolyte/anode interface for uniform Li plating/stripping. In parallel, the HPPANF separator enriched with polar groups acted as an exceptional polymer-based solid-state electrolyte, providing 3D ion channels for the transport of Li ions. Benefiting from the dual structure-material design, the HPPANF separator induced uniform Li ion flux for dendrite-free Li depositions, which caused enhanced cycling stability (1300 h, 3 mA cm^-2 ). This work demonstrates a new method to stabilize Li metal anodes through rational separator design.

Keywords: batteries; energy storage; lithium metal anode; membranes; separator.

Abstract

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