Lithiophilic and Conductive V2O3/VN Nanosheets as Regulating Layer for High-Rate, High-Areal Capacity and Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Anodes

Abstract Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) possess high energy and power density, while the dendrite growth on lithium metal anodes prevents its practical application. And most of the current modification methods only improve from a single aspect, which is difficult to achieve ideal effect of suppressing dendrite in the long cycling with high rate and areal capacity. Herein, a conductive and lithiophilic patch-like V2O3/VN nanosheet as regulating layer is designed on surface of lithium metal anode (V2O3/VN-Li) to hinder the dendrite growth. The superior lithiophilicity, fast electron/ion transport of V2O3/VN nanosheets contribute to a low nucleation overpotential and uniform lithium deposition, thus greatly suppressing the dendrite formation at high current density with repeated plating/stripping. As a result, the V2O3/VN-Li anode achieves ultra-long life for over 2000 h under ultra-high current density and areal capacity (30 mA cm-2, 30 mAh cm-2). The modified strategy of multifunctional regulating layer on the surface of lithium metal anodes can open a new direction for the realization of high-power and high-energy-density LMBs.