Immunizing lithium metal anodes against dendrite growth using protein molecules to achieve high energy batteries

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 5429 - 9
• Main Authors: Wang, Tianyi, Li, Yanbin, Zhang, Jinqiang, Yan, Kang, Jaumaux, Pauline, Yang, Jian, Wang, Chengyin, Shanmukaraj, Devaraj, Sun, Bing, Armand, Michel, Cui, Yi, Wang, Guoxiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 27.10.2020; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/299/891; 639/4077/4079/891; 639/638/161/891; Anodes; Buds; Controlled release; Dendrites; Density; Electric fields; Electrolytes; Embryos; Energy; Humanities and Social Sciences; Immunization; Lithium; Lithium batteries; Metals; Mimicry; multidisciplinary; Protein structure; Proteins; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Secondary structure; Tips
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19246-2

The practical applications of lithium metal anodes in high-energy-density lithium metal batteries have been hindered by their formation and growth of lithium dendrites. Herein, we discover that certain protein could efficiently prevent and eliminate the growth of wispy lithium dendrites, leading to long cycle life and high Coulombic efficiency of lithium metal anodes. We contend that the protein molecules function as a “self-defense” agent, mitigating the formation of lithium embryos, thus mimicking natural, pathological immunization mechanisms. When added into the electrolyte, protein molecules are automatically adsorbed on the surface of lithium metal anodes, particularly on the tips of lithium buds, through spatial conformation and secondary structure transformation from α-helix to β-sheets. This effectively changes the electric field distribution around the tips of lithium buds and results in homogeneous plating and stripping of lithium metal anodes. Furthermore, we develop a slow sustained-release strategy to overcome the limited dispersibility of protein in the ether-based electrolyte and achieve a remarkably enhanced cycling performance of more than 2000 cycles for lithium metal batteries. The practical application of lithium metal anodes in high-energy-density lithium metal batteries is hindered by the formation and growth of lithium dendrites. Here, authors report fibroin protein as an electrolyte additive to prevent and eliminate the growth of wispy lithium dendrites.