Lithium Atom Surface Diffusion and Delocalized Deposition Propelled by Atomic Metal Catalyst toward Ultrahigh-Capacity Dendrite-Free Lithium Anode

Lithium metal anode possesses overwhelming capacity and low potential but suffers from dendrite growth and pulverization, causing short lifespan and low utilization. Here, a fundamental novel insight of using single-atomic catalyst (SAC) activators to boost lithium atom diffusion is proposed to realize delocalized deposition. By combining electronic microscopies, time-of -flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, theoretical simulations, and electro-chemical analyses, we have unambiguously depicted that the SACs serve as kinetic activators in propelling the surface spreading and lateral redistribution of the lithium atoms for achieving dendrite-free plating morphology. Under the impressive capacity of 20 mA h cm-2, the Li modified with SAC-activator exhibits a low overpotential of & SIM;50 mV at 5 mA cm-2, a long lifespan of 900 h, and high Coulombic efficiencies during 150 cycles, much better than most literature reports. The so-coupled lithium-sulfur full battery delivers high cycling and rate performances, showing great promise toward the next-generation lithium metal batteries.