ZnO–CoO Composite Nanosphere Array-Modified Carbon Cloth for Low-Voltage Hysteresis Li Metal Anodes
Peng‐Cheng Ma, Zilong Zhuang, Jingchao Cao, Bowei Ju, Xiaoming Xi
Abstract
Li metal anodes possess the largest energy density among all anode candidates, while dendrite growth is a huge barrier for its application. Herein, carbon cloth modified with ZnO–CoO particles is synthesized as a host for Li metal anodes (Li-ZnO–CoO/CC). During plating, Li tends to first fill the inside space of the Li-ZnO–CoO/CC, while in stripping, Li will be stripped from the surface. In addition, the three-dimensional (3D) structure could enable an internal space for Li deposition and alleviate Li volume expansion. As a result, ZnO–CoO/CC has better lithiophilic properties and a lower nucleation overpotential (1.2 mV), leading to over 600 h of stable Li plating/stripping at 5 mA cm–2–1 mAh cm–2 for a voltage hysteresis of 15.5 mV. In addition, the NCM523||Li-ZnO–CoO/CC cell exhibits a capacity retention of 92.4% at 0.3 C for 300 cycles. This work creates a valid design of a double-lithiophilic spot carbon cloth-based Li metal anode.