Understanding the Surface Passivation and Crystallographic Orientation Effects of Commercial Lithium Metal Anodes on Battery Performance

Lithium (Li) metal is one of the most promising anode materials for next-generation batteries. However, the absence of standards for manufacturing and performance assessment remains a major obstacle to the commercialization of lithium–metal batteries. In this study, 5 commercial lithium anodes are systematically investigated to reveal their key physical and chemical nonuniformities, such as variations in surface roughness, elemental composition, surface passivation species, and crystallographic orientation. We develop a structure–property correlation linking these nonuniformities to the battery performance. During manufacturing and storage, passivation species such as Li 2 O, LiOH, and Li 2 CO 3 inevitably form on the lithium surface. Among them, Li 2 O and LiOH layers deteriorate the quality of the subsequently formed solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), while Li 2 CO 3 facilitates the formation of a more stable and uniform SEI. The (110)-textured Li facilitates uniform lithium deposition because of the substrate effect. It is found that an ideal Li anode should possess a metallic/Li 2 CO 3 -passivated surface and (110) out-of-plane texture, which is confirmed by Li||NCM811 full cells. This study establishes a correlation between the nonuniformities of lithium anodes and their electrochemical performance, highlighting the urgent need for standardized manufacturing and evaluation protocols.