Lithiophilic 3D Nanoporous Nitrogen‐Doped Graphene for Dendrite‐Free and Ultrahigh‐Rate Lithium‐Metal Anodes

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2019-01, Vol.31 (2), p.e1805334-n/a
• Main Authors: Huang, Gang, Han, Jiuhui, Zhang, Fan, Wang, Ziqian, Kashani, Hamzeh, Watanabe, Kentaro, Chen, Mingwei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anodes; Batteries; dendrite suppression; Dendritic structure; Energy storage; Graphene; Hazard mitigation; Lithium; Lithium batteries; Li‐metal anodes; nanoporous N‐doped graphene; Porosity; Rechargeable batteries; Scaffolds; Storage batteries; Variations
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201805334

The key bottlenecks hindering the practical implementations of lithium‐metal anodes in high‐energy‐density rechargeable batteries are the uncontrolled dendrite growth and infinite volume changes during charging and discharging, which lead to short lifespan and catastrophic safety hazards. In principle, these problems can be mitigated or even solved by loading lithium into a high‐surface‐area, conductive, and lithiophilic porous scaffold. However, a suitable material that can synchronously host a large loading amount of lithium and endure a large current density has not been achieved. Here, a lithiophilic 3D nanoporous nitrogen‐doped graphene as the sought‐after scaffold material for lithium anodes is reported. The high surface area, large porosity, and high conductivity of the nanoporous graphene concede not only dendrite‐free stripping/plating but also abundant open space accommodating volume fluctuations of lithium. This ingenious scaffold endows the lithium composite anode with a long‐term cycling stability and ultrahigh rate capability, significantly improving the charge storage performance of high‐energy‐density rechargeable lithium batteries. A lithium composite anode is developed by rational combination of 3D nanoporous N‐doped graphene and Li melt. The issues of uncontrolled dendrite growth and infinite volume changes of Li‐metal anodes are simultaneously addressed by the integrated nanoporous Li anode, realizing high cycling stability and ultrafast rate performance at high area capacities.