Durable Lithium Metal Anodes Enabled by Interfacial Layers Based on Mechanically Interlocked Networks Capable of Energy Dissipation

Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) has received considerable attention due to its vital role in stabilizing Li anode. However, native and many artificial SEIs often suffer from cracking and fragmentation under dendrite impact or long-term repeated volume variation, causing capacity decay. Herein, a mechanically interlocked network (MIN) was innovatively designed as interfacial layer to protect Li anode by incorporating the unique energy dissipation capability, which helps Li anode survive repeated volume variation during long-term cycling. As a result, symmetric cell with MIN-coated Li anode (MIN@Li) exhibited prolonged cycling life of 1500 hours at 1 mA cm-2 . The full cell using LFP cathode (13.5 mg cm-2 ) cycled stably for 500 cycles with capacity retention over 88 % (1 C). Our results highlight a creative application of MIN in Li anode, and its unique energy dissipation capability promises future success in other battery fields suffering from repeated volume variations.