Design of a lithiophilic and electron-blocking interlayer for dendrite-free lithium-metal solid-state batteries

Abstract

All-solid-state batteries are a potential game changer in the energy storage market; however, their practical employment has been hampered by premature short circuits caused by the lithium dendritic growth through the solid electrolyte. Here, we demonstrate that a rational layer-by-layer strategy using a lithiophilic and electron-blocking multilayer can substantially enhance the performance/stability of the system by effectively blocking the electron leakage and maintaining low electronic conductivity even at high temperature (60 degrees C) or under high electric field (3 V) while sustaining low interfacial resistance (13.4 ohm cm(2)). It subsequently results in a homogeneous lithium plating/stripping, thereby aiding in achieving one of the highest critical current densities (similar to 3.1 mA cm(-2)) at 60 degrees C in a symmetric cell. A full cell paired with a commercial-level cathode exhibits exceptionally long durability (>3000 cycles) and coulombic efficiency (99.96%) at a high current density (2 C; similar to 1.0 mA cm(-2)), which records the highest performance among all-solid-state lithium metal batteries reported to date.