Journal article
Lithium-Nitrate-Containing Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Carbonate-Based Anode-Free Lithium Metal Batteries
ACS applied materials & interfaces, v 17(26), pp 37851-37862
02 Jul 2025
PMID: 40530945
Abstract
Anode-free lithium metal batteries are of great interest due to their immense energy density. However, reversible lithium deposition on copper remains challenging, and extreme volume changes prevent robust solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation. Lithium nitrate (LiNO3) is a well-known electrolyte additive that imparts beneficial components to the SEI but has very poor solubility in carbonate electrolytes. In this work, we present a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) that provides a reservoir of LiNO3 to the battery contained in a polymer network of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). By incorporating POSS into the GPE, we achieve an improved ionic conductivity that reaches 1.011 mS cm–1 at room temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows that the GPE forms a robust SEI while simultaneously mitigating the degradation of the carbonate electrolyte. This improvement enables the GPE to deliver higher coulombic efficiency and longer cycle life in Cu||Li batteries, lasting 250 cycles at a current density of 0.5 mA cm–2, 5 times longer than a cell with only liquid electrolyte. Furthermore, the GPE provides a smooth, spherical lithium morphology on untreated copper electrodes.
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Details
- Title
- Lithium-Nitrate-Containing Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Carbonate-Based Anode-Free Lithium Metal Batteries
- Creators
- Taber Yim - Drexel University, Materials Characterization CoreKiwon Kim - Cornell UniversityMary Qin Hassig - Department of Materials Science and EngineeringJantakan Nedsaengtip - Cornell UniversityTongjie Zhang - Drexel University, Chemical and Biological EngineeringSubhadra Jamkar - Cornell UniversityChristopher Y. Li - Drexel University, Materials Science and EngineeringVibha Kalra - Drexel University, Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Publication Details
- ACS applied materials & interfaces, v 17(26), pp 37851-37862
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society
- Number of pages
- 12
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering; Chemical and Biological Engineering; Materials Characterization Core
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001514111800001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105008655475
- Other Identifier
- 991022059920204721
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
- Nanoscience & Nanotechnology