Lithium (Li) dendrites and volume expansion during repeated
Li
plating and stripping processes are the major obstacles to the development
of advanced Li metal batteries. Li nucleation and dendrite growth
can be controlled and inhibited spatially by using 3-dimensional (3D)
hosts together with efficient lithiophilic materials. To realize next-generation
Li-metal batteries, it is critical to effectively regulate the surface
structure of the lithiophilic crystals. Herein, exposed-edged Cu3P faceted nanoparticles anchored along the interlaced carbon
nanofibers (ECP@CNF) are developed as a highly efficient 3D Li host.
Through the 3D interlaced rigid carbon skeleton, volume expansion
can be accommodated. The (300)-dominant edged crystal facets of Cu3P with abundant exposed P3– sites not only
exhibit strong micro-structural Li affinity but also have relatively
high charge transference to nucleate uniformly and effectively, resulting
in reduced polarization. Consequently, under a high current density
of 10 mA cm–2 with a high discharge of depth (60%),
ECP@CNF/Li symmetric cells demonstrate outstanding cycling stability
for 500 h with a small voltage hysteresis of 32.8 mV. Notably, the
ECP@CNF/Li∥LiFePO4 full cell exhibits a more stable
cycling performance for 650 cycles under a high rate of 1 C, with
capacity retention up to 92% (N/P = 10, 4.7 mg cm–2 LiFePO4). Even under a limit Li (3.4 mA h) with an N/P
ratio of 2 (8.9 mg cm–2 LiFePO4), ECP@CNF/Li∥LiFePO4 full cell can also demonstrate excellent reversibility and
stable cycling performance with higher utilization of Li. This work
provides an insight view into constructing high-performance Li-metal
batteries under more strict conditions.