Chinese scientists provide new ideas for the research and development of high-performance lithium metal batteries

On the 5th, it was learned from the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences t

hat the researchers of the Institute and the relevant team of the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Advanced Energy Science 

and Technology have developed an ion management film for non dendritic lithium metal anode by using ion track technology,

 which provides a new idea for the design and development of multi-functional battery separators, 

as well as for solving the safety problems of high-performance lithium metal batteries. 

The relevant results were recently published in Advanced Energy Materials.

Among numerous anode materials for lithium batteries, 

lithium metal anodes have received continuous attention due to their highest theoretical specific capacity and low electrochemical potential. 

However, during long-term cycling, the growth of lithium metal anode dendrites and the side reactions between lithium metal 

and electrolyte can cause a decline in battery performance and pose serious safety issues, 

hindering its further commercial application.

In recent years, researchers have been striving to find solutions to the problem of lithium dendrite growth.

 Research has found that a uniform distribution of lithium ions can achieve uniform deposition of lithium on the surface of lithium metal anodes 

and suppress the growth of lithium dendrites. 

The researchers of the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 

based on the Lanzhou Heavy Ion Research Facility (HIRFL), developed a battery membrane - ion management membrane - that can effectively "manage" 

the ion distribution and transmission characteristics by using ion track technology and surface chemical modification process. 

This ion management membrane has vertically arranged, uniformly sized, and negatively charged nanochannels, 

which can serve as ion distributors and "lithium-ion guides" to reduce fluctuations in lithium-ion concentration and achieve selective lithium-ion transport.

This ion management membrane, with its unique structure and chemical properties, has high ion conductivity and excellent lithium ion transfer number. 

At the same time, it minimizes the fluctuation of lithium ion concentration on the surface of the lithium metal anode, 

demonstrating excellent performance in suppressing lithium dendrites when used. 

After applying this separator to lithium/lithium batteries, it can stably cycle for 1200 hours at 1 milliampere per square centimeter, 

which is more than twice that of traditional commercial separators; For lithium/lithium iron phosphate batteries, 

this process can achieve a specific capacity of 146 milliampere hours per gram and maintain a capacity of 79.84% after 1000 cycles, 

significantly higher than the level of traditional porous separators, i.e. existing commercial separators.