High‐Performance Elastomeric Lithium Metal Anodes Enabled by a Lithiophilic Monolayer‐Assembled Nano‐Crumpled Micro‐Concave Architecture
ABSTRACT Li metal batteries are promising next‐generation energy storage systems due to their high theoretical energy density and low redox potential. However, their practical application is limited by Li dendrite formation during repeated cycling, which compromises safety and shortens cycle life. Herein, we introduce a flexible elastomeric Li metal anode that integrates a lithiophilic monolayer‐assembled nano‐crumpled surface with microscale concave architectures. This hierarchical design was realized by densely assembling metal nanoparticles onto thiol‐functionalized elastomer, followed by Ni electroplating and subsequent assembly with lithiophilic amine‐terminated molecular linkers. The resulting elastomeric anode effectively reduced Li nucleation overpotential and promotes mossy Li deposition. As a result, symmetric cells exhibited excellent cycling stability for over 2,100 h at 3 mA cm −2 /3 mAh cm −2 . Moreover, Li||LiFePO 4 full cells retained ∼90.2% capacity after 1,000 cycles at 1C, demonstrating the potential of chemically and structurally engineered elastomeric anodes for durable and safe Li metal batteries.
Authors
- Yongkwon Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2173-8157)
- Woojae Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4763-9760)
- Giwon Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6832-658X)
- Jeong Gon Son (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3473-446X)
- Daegun Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1552-2663)
- S K Choi
- Donghyeon Nam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1278-3685)
- Seoin Back (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4682-0621)
- Sungjun Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9603-902X)
- Yongmin Ko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9258-3933)
- Geon Choi
- Seungeun Paik
- Jinhan Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7097-5968)
- Seonho Lee
- Yong jae Lee
- Jaejin Lim
Institutions
- Northwestern University (US)
- Gachon University (KR)
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Ewha Womans University (KR)
- Seoul National University (KR)
- Kwangwoon University (KR)
- Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Yonsei University (KR)
- Korea University (KR)
- Northwest University (US)
- Ajou University (KR)
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Energy Materials
- Published
- 2026-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71104
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00