Separators
are key safety components for electrochemical energy storage systems.
However, the intrinsic poor wettability with electrolyte and low thermal
stability of commercial polyolefin separators cannot meet the requirements
of the ever-expanding market for high-power, high-energy, and high-safety
power systems, such as lithium-metal, lithium-sulfur, and lithium-ion
batteries. In this study, scalable bendable networks built with ultralong
silica nanowires (SNs) are developed as stable separators for both
high-safety and high-power lithium-metal batteries. The three-dimensional
porous nature (porosity of 73%) and the polar surface of the obtained
SNs separators endue a much better electrolyte wettability, larger
electrolyte uptake ratio (325%), higher electrolyte retention ratio
(63%), and ∼7 times higher ionic conductivity than that of
commercial polypropylene (PP) separators. Moreover, the pore-rich
structure of the SNs separator can aid in evenly distributing lithium
and, in turn, suppress the uncontrollable growth of lithium dendrites
to a certain degree. Furthermore, the pure inorganic structure endows
the SNs separators with excellent chemical and electrochemical stabilities
even at elevated temperatures, as well as excellent thermal stability
up to 700 °C. This work underpins the utilization of SNs separators
as a rational choice for developing high-performance batteries with
a metallic lithium anode.