Study on the Mechanisms of Lithium Deposition on Different Three-Dimensional Current Collector Substrates

Lithium dendrite growth, the loss of active lithium, and violent side reactions at the anode of lithium metal batteries lead to short cycle life and safety hazards, thus limiting their development and industrialization. In this work, we have deeply explored the effects of lithophilic materials loaded on different metal collector substrate materials on the lithium metal deposition behavior and electrochemical properties. We loaded two metal substrate materials, nickel foam and copper foam, with lithophilic substances and then comprehensively analyzed and summarized their structures, lithium deposition behaviors, and electrochemical properties. The results show that during lithium deposition, lithium in copper foam is mainly deposited on the surface of the copper foam skeleton, while in Ni foam, it tends to grow within the aperture and deposit at the bottom so that Ni foam better takes the advantage of the three-dimensional substrate. However, in terms of electrochemical performance of both materials and commercial lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) matched full batteries, copper foam showed better cycling performance in the later stages of the cycle.