MAX/MXene modified polypropylene separators toward high-performance lithium metal anodes
摘要
Improving the performance of the lithium-metal anodes (LMAs) required effective inhibition of lithium (Li) dendrite growth and stabilization of the electrode interface. Herein, a lithiophilic multi-metal V1.7Nb0.3AlC/V1.7Nb0.3CTx (MAX/MXene) composite coating was constructed on a commercial microporous polypropylene (PP) separator to enhance the stability of the LMAs. Meanwhile, the MAX phase skeleton further improves the mechanical robustness and chemical stability of the coating. Electrochemical kinetics analyses also indicate reduced interfacial resistance and accelerated Li+ transport, accounting for the improved cycling stability. The optimized MAX/MXene-6 h@PP separator has enabled the uniform and compact Li deposition, effectively inhibiting the dendrite formation. The Li||MAX/MXene-6 h@PP||Li symmetric cells have exhibited ultra-stable cycling over 4000 h at 5 mA cm− 2 and 5 mAh cm− 2 with overpotential of about 19 mV. The Li||MAX/MXene-6 h@PP||LiFePO4 (LFP) full cells have demonstrated excellent cycling stability with 121 mAh g− 1 after 300 cycles at 1 C. This work suggested that the MAX/MXene modified separators have offered a promising route toward stabilizing LMAs and provided new design insights for high-performance separators in next-generation LMAs.