Abstract
Metallic lithium (Li) is a promising anode material for the next generation Li ion batteries due to its low electrochemical potential (-3.04 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode) and high specific capacity (3860 mAh g-1 and 2061 mAh cm-3). However, the considerable volume fluctuation and formation of Li dendrite during the repetitive Li plating and stripping have severely hampered the implementation of Li metal anodes for decades. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the function mechanism of Li metal and develop stable Li metal anodes for practical application.In this dissertation, the heterogeneous nucleation behavior of metallic Li on Cu based current collector was initially investigated and the lithiophilicity of the electrode surface was found to be a key to the Li plating behavior. Furthermore, a Cu-CuO-Ni hybrid structure was designed and fabricated as a current collector for stable Li metal anode. In addition, a stable Li-Cu composite anode was fabricated through a facile molten infusion approach. Such results contributed to the practical application of Li metal anodes.
| Date of Award | 19 Aug 2019 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Kaili ZHANG (Supervisor) & Wenjun ZHANG (Co-supervisor) |