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A Hybrid Separator with Fast Ionic Conductor for the Application of Lithium-Metal Batteries

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Abstract

Uneven lithium deposition and uncontrollable dendrite growth limit the development and progress of lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). Here, we developed an appropriate strategy to prevent the damage of Li dendrites by introducing inorganic oxide solid electrolyte layers (Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3, LATP) on both sides of a polypropylene separator (PP). The inorganic coating layers, which comprise close-packed LATP solid electrolyte particles, afford a firm and uniform microstructure for the hybrid separator. At a current density (0.25 mA cm−2), the lithium symmetric batteries composed of the LATP/PP separator exhibit a long cycle life of over 1600 h in the 1 M LiTFSI-DOL/DME electrolyte. Furthermore, the LiFePO4||LATP/PP||Li cell presents a prominent performance and delivers an average charge capacity of 151 mAh g−1 at 1 C. This can be attributed to the unique characteristics of the LATP/PP separator, as it not only has outstanding mechanical strength and thermal stability, but also possesses high ionic conductivity, which effectively enhances the rate capacity to improve the safety of LMBs.

Graphical Abstract

LATP/PP separator is prepared by the coating method, and the Li symmetric batteries can cycle more than 1600 h in the 1 M LiTFSI-DOL/DME, which show an outstanding electrochemical performance.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21571110), the NSF of Zhejiang province (LY18B010003), the NSF of Ningbo (2019A610002), the Ningbo Public Welfare Funds (202002N3056 and 2021S142), and the K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.

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  1. College of Science & Technology, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Pan, Ling-Yan He, Xiao-Yang Qiu & Xing Li

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  1. Yu Pan
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  2. Ling-Yan He
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  4. Xing Li
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Pan, Y., He, LY., Qiu, XY. et al. A Hybrid Separator with Fast Ionic Conductor for the Application of Lithium-Metal Batteries. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 4307–4316 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-09679-4

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