Dual in-situ curing gel polymer electrolyte for solid-state lithium battery

In-situ prepared gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) is anticipated to exhibit superior ionic conductivity and outstanding interfacial contact in lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, the conventional single in-situ curing method either focuses on a single interface or employs an inert separator as a carrier. This approach does not address the issues of both anode and cathode interfaces. Moreover, the use of a non-ionic-conducting separator reduces the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. To address these constraints, we propose a separator-free dual curing strategy that combines external UV curing with internal thermal curing. This strategy improves interfacial performance on both the anode and cathode sides, while also eliminating the need for an inert separator. The insitu formed GPEs effectively inhibit lithium dendrite growth and deliver stable cycling performance in lithium symmetric batteries under high current densities (over 900 h at 0.2 mA cm- 2 and 0.2 mAh cm- 2). The assembled Li//LiFePO4 (LFP) cells exhibit stable long-term cycling performance (0.5 C, 90 % capacity retention after 500 cycles). The dual in-situ curing technique introduces a novel preparation approach, eliminating costly inert separators and enabling widespread application in solid-state LMBs.