Stable Anode-Free All-Solid-State Lithium Battery through Tuned Metal Wetting on The Copper Current Collector

Stable anode-free all-solid-state battery (AF-ASSB) with sulfide-based solid-electrolyte (SE) (argyrodite Li6PS5Cl, LPSCl) is achieved by tuning wetting of lithium metal on “empty” copper current-collector. Lithiophilic 1 μm Li2Te is synthesized by exposing the collector to tellurium vapor, followed by in-situ Li activation during the first charge. The Li2Te significantly reduces the electrodeposition/electrodissolution overpotentials and improves Coulombic efficiency (CE). During continuous plating experiments using half-cells (1 mA cm-2), the accumulated thickness of electrodeposited Li on Li2Te-Cu is more than 70 μm, which is the thickness of Li foil counter-electrode. Full AF-ASSB with NMC811 cathode delivers an initial CE of 83% at 0.1 C, with a cycling CE of 99.5%. Cryo-FIB sectioning demonstrates uniform electrodeposited metal microstructure, with no signs of voids or dendrites at the collector-SE interface. Electrodissolution is uniform and complete, with Li2Te remaining structurally stable and adherent. By contrast, unmodified Cu current-collector promotes inhomogeneous Li electrodeposition/electrodissolution, electrochemically inactive “dead metal”, dendrites that extend into SE, and thick non-uniform solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) interspersed with pores. Density functional theory and mesoscale calculations provide complementary insight regarding nucleation-growth behavior. Unlike for conventional liquid-electrolyte metal batteries, the role of current collector/support lithiophilicy has not been explored for emerging AF-ASSBs.