Ligand-engineered Ag nanoclusters-modified copper current collector for anode-free lithium metal battery.

Authors

Jialu Yang, Yiming Zhou, Zhou Lu, Ke Wang, Wei Li, Ke Yue, Zihao Zhang, Haoyan Guo, Xiaoyu Wang, Shihui Zou, Peng Shi, Jianwei Nai, Yujing Liu, Yao Wang, Huadong Yuan, Xinyong Tao, Jianmin Luo

Published in

Nanotechnology. Volume 37. Issue 42. Oct 16, 2026. Epub Oct 16, 2026.

Abstract

Anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs) exhibit significant potential for next-generation high-energy-density storage due to their inherently high energy density, low manufacturing cost and safety. However, non-uniform lithium nucleation and growth lead to the formation of lithium dendrites. These dendrites fracture readily during repeated plating/stripping cycles, transforming into electrochemically inert 'dead lithium' while mechanically disrupting the fragile solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer and causing irreversible consumption of active lithium. Herein, a novel current collector is designed by decorating Cu with Ag nanoclusters bearing sulfur-containing ligands. The ligands, along with TFSI^-decomposition, may contribute to the formation of a sulfur-rich SEI, while Ag nanoclusters provide lithiophilic nucleation sites for reversible lithium cycling. This design enables improved AFLMBs. Based on the design, the LiFePO₄||Cu-Ag NCs-2 anode-free battery demonstrates an average coulombic efficiency of above 99.7% over 100 cycles at 1 C. Also, a 1.2 Ah anode-free pouch cell was constructed with 275 Wh kg^-1.

PMID:
42885390
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Oct 2026.

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