Lithiophilic Zn-doped CuO/ZnO nanoarrays modified 3D scaffold inducing lithium lateral plating achieving highly stable lithium metal anode

Commercial applications of lithium (Li) metal anodes are limited by the continuous presence of Li dendrites and infinite volume variation during the plating/stripping process. Herein, the three-dimensional Zn-doped CuO/ZnO nanoarrays modified mesh (3D ZZCM) is prepared via redox electrochemistry method and Li/3D ZZCM composite anode is prepared by pressing 3D ZZCM on Li foil. The Li/3D ZZCM with uniformly distributed lithiophilic sites, induces Li lateral plating, which effectively suppresses the growth of Li dendrites and alleviates the volume expansion. The doping of zinc can further improve the charge transfer and reduce the interfacial resistance, promoting the redox reaction kinetics and reversibility of Li plating/stripping. Therefore, the Li/3D ZZCM composite anode achieves a stable cycle with low overpotential over 535 h even at 40 mA cm−2 with 10 mA h cm−2. And the dendrite-free uniform deposition process of Li/3D ZZCM anode is observed by in-situ optical dynamic test. When assembled with commercial LiCoO2, the Li/3D ZZCM||LiCoO2 full-cell demonstrates ultra-high cycle stability (81.8 % capacity retention after 600 cycles at 1C) and excellent rate performance, highlighting the great significance of Li/3D ZZCM anode for high energy density and safe Li metal batteries (LMBs).