Silver enhanced 3D carbon nanofiber membrane via electrospinning for high performance lithium metal anodes

A silver (Ag) enhanced 3D carbon nanofiber membrane (Ag@CNFM) was synthesized through a combination of electrospinning and heat treatment techniques, with polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and silver nitrate as precursors playing different roles in this process. Additionally, Ag-enhanced 3D carbon fiber membrane composite anodes were obtained by electrodeposition at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 for 10 h with a total deposition capacity of 10 mAh cm−2. The composite materials (denoted as Ag@CNFM/Li) working in symmetrical cells exhibited 1.2 mV overpotential after charging and discharging over 2000 h at 5 mA cm−2. Ag@CNFM/Li fulfilled a high discharge specific capacity of 109.66 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.5 C and 141. 59 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at a current density of 1 C with LiFePO4 (LFP) and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) working as counter electrode, maintaining a capacity retention of 87.37% and 72.8%. Even at a higher current density of 5 C, Ag@CNFM/Li retained a discharge specific capacity of 85.05 and 159.14 mAh g−1 with a capacity retention of 61.54% and 79.7% in LFP and NCM811 full cells, respectively.