LixCu alloy nanowires nested in Ni foam for highly stable Li metal composite anode

Porous metal architectures are widely adopted as three-dimensional conducting scaffolds for constructing Li metal composite anodes, whereas their macropores hinder their practical application due to limited surface area and large pore size of few hundred micrometers. In this work, a network of LixCu solid solution alloy nanowires is in situ formed via infiltrating molten Li-Cu alloy into Ni foam and subsequent cooling treatment, whereby a three-component composite anode consisting of Li metal, LixCu alloy, and Ni foam is fabricated. The LixCu nanowires nested as secondary frame split the macropores into micropores, enlarging the active surface area and inducing uniform Li deposition significantly. The lithiophilicity of the alloy wires and the shrunken void size built by the hierarchical architecture can further tune the nucleation and growth behavior of Li. The multiscale synergetic effect between the primary and secondary scaffold guarantees the composite anode sheet with extraordinarily long-term cycling stability even under high current rates.