Lithiophilic 3D Porous CuZn Current Collector for Stable Lithium Metal Batteries

Lithium (Li) dendrites formed from nonuniform Li deposition limit potential uses of Li metal as an anode material. Here, we report a lithiophilic 3D porous CuZn current collector that mitigates dendrite formation and realizes the high stability of Li anodes. As opposed to the common metal current collector of copper (Cu), calculations and in situ experiments demonstrate that copper zinc (CuZn) alloys found in commercially available brass are lithiophilic and promote uniform Li deposition. Facile dealloying methods are applied to provide sufficient Li deposition and volume expansion space in brass sheets. Residual CuZn alloys in the framework are found to induce uniform Li deposition and stabilize Li dendrite growth. The optimal current collector (2h-3D CuZn) runs smoothly over 220 cycles at 0.5 mA cm–2 with improved Coulombic efficiencies at high current density. This demonstrates an economic and facile CuZn preparation method that unlocks the full potential of Li anodes and provides new Li battery stabilization approaches.