Lithiophilic Sn–Co nano-seeds sealed in a hollow carbon shell to stabilize lithium metal anodes

Abstract

A lithiophilic Sn–Co nano-seed sealed in a nitrogen-doped carbon shell is designed to stabilize lithium metal anodes, in which lithiophilic alloys can regulate lithium deposition behavior and the hollow carbon shell is beneficial to prevent agglomeration. The modified lithium anode can be stable for 1350 h and 400 h under 1 mA cm⁻² and 5 mA cm⁻² in symmetric cells. The Sn–Co@C@Li||LiFePO₄ full cell with a low N/P ratio of 2.12 shows a superior capacity retention of >98% over 250 cycles under 1C.