Researchers report a high-capacity, rechargeable lithium metal battery. High-energy rechargeable batteries have implications for energy storage. The properties of lithium (Li) could enable the development of high-energy batteries, but existing Li metal electrodes are limited by cycle lifetimes and low efficiencies. Hailiang Wang and colleagues developed Li metal electrodes with high cycling capacities and efficiency. The Li electrode exhibits a cycling capacity of greater than 10 milliampere hours (mAh) cm-2 and an average efficiency of more than 98%. The high performance of the Li electrode is achieved through the slow release of lithium nitrate (LiNO3) into a carbonate electrolyte and the subsequent decomposition and formation of LiNO3 into a protective layer, enabling reversible, dendrite-free, and highly dense Li metal deposition. As a proof of concept, the authors used the electrodes to construct a full battery cell that exhibited capacities and energy higher than those of state-of-the-art Li ion or Li metal batteries. The findings may aid the development of future-generation batteries, according to the authors.
###
Article #18-03634: "High-capacity rechargeable batteries based on deeply cyclable lithium metal anodes," by Qiuwei Shi, Yiren Zhong, Min Wu, Hongzhi Wang, and Hailiang Wang.
MEDIA CONTACT: Hailiang Wang, Yale University, West Haven, CT; tel: 203-737-6583; e-mail: hailiang.wang@yale.edu
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences