Dendrite-Free Lithium Anodes with Ultra-Deep Stripping and Plating Properties Based on Vertically Oriented Lithium-Copper-Lithium Arrays

Although lithium metal is the best anode for lithium-based batteries, the uncontrollable lithium dendrites especially under deep stripping and plating states hamper its practical applications. Here, a dendrite-free lithium anode is developed based on vertically oriented lithium-copper-lithium arrays, which can be facilely produced via traditional rolling or repeated stacking approaches. Such vertically oriented arrays not only enable both the lithium-ion flux and the electric field to be regulated, but also can act as a "dam" to guide the regular plating of lithium, thus efficiently buffering the volume change of the lithium anode upon cycling. As a consequence, the vertically oriented anode exhibits an excellent deep stripping and plating capability upto 50 mAh cm(-2), high rate capabilities (20 mA cm(-2)), and long cycle life (2000 h). Based on this anode, a full lithium battery with a LiCoO2 cathode delivers a good cycle life, holding great potential for practical lithium-metal batteries with high energy densities.