Lithiation MXene Derivative Skeletons for Wide-Temperature Lithium Metal Anodes

Abstract

Lithium (Li) metal, as an appealing candidate for the next-generation of high-energy-density batteries, is plagued by its safety issue mainly caused by uncontrolled dendrite growth and infinite volume expansion. Developing new materials that can improve the performance of Li-metal anode is one of the urgent tasks. Herein, a new MXene derivative containing pure rutile TiO2 and N-doped carbon prepared by heat-treating MXene under a mixing gas, exhibiting high chemical activity in molten Li, is reported. The lithiation MXene derivative with a hybrid of LiTiO2-Li3N-C and Li offers outstanding electrochemical properties. The symmetrical cell assembling lithiation MXene derivative hybrid anode exhibits an ultra-long cycle lifespan of 2000 h with an overpotential of ≈30 mV at 1 mA cm−2, which overwhelms Li-based anodes reported so far. Additionally, long-term operations of 34, 350, and 500 h at 10 mA cm−2 can be achieved in symmetrical cells at temperatures of −10, 25, and 50 °C, respectively. Both experimental tests and density functional theory calculations confirm that the LiTiO2-Li3N-C skeleton serves as a promising host for Li infusion by alleviating volume variation. Simultaneously, the superlithiophilic interphase of Li3N guides Li deposition along the LiTiO2-Li3N-C skeleton to avoid dendrite growth.