Dendrite-Free Li Metal Anode for Rechargeable Li-SO Batteries Employing Surface Modification with a NaAlCl-2SO Electrolyte.

Dendritic growth of a Li metal anode during cycling is one of major issues to be addressed for practical application of Li metal rechargeable batteries. Herein, we demonstrate that surface modification of Li metal with a Na-containing SO electrolyte can be an effective way to prevent dendritic Li growth during cell operation. The surface-modified Li metal anode exhibited no dendritic deposits even under a high areal capacity (5 mA h cm) and a high current density (3 mA cm), whereas the unmodified anode showed typical filamentary Li deposition.