Ultrafast Microwave Polarizing Electrons to Form Vertically Aligned Metal Hybrids as Lithiophilic Buffer for Lithium-Metal Batteries

Lithium-metal batteries (LMBs) have attracted great attention because of their high theoretical capacity and low electrochemical potential. However, uncontrollable Li dendrite growth and significant volume expansion result in safety issues that largely limit their practical applications. Herein, we explore a microwave-assisted strategy for the rapid synthesis of vertically aligned metal hybrids on Cu foil (VAMH@CF). Such an elaborate architecture of VAMH provides a lithiophilic buffer layer after prelithiation, offering vast nucleation sites/seeds for Li deposition (Li@VAMH@CF) and lower nucleation overpotential. Consequently, Li@VAMH@CF exhibits an outstanding cyclability with a long lifespan (up to 5500 cycles) and a low voltage hysteresis (28 mV) in a symmetrical cell at 3 mA cm-2. LiFePO4||Li@VAMH@CF full cells deliver a reversible capacity of about 140 mAh g-1 for 200 cycles, further demonstrating opportunities of the microwave-involved strategy for optimizing Li-metal anodes.