Rolling press of lithium with carbon for high-performance anodes

Many lithium (Li) metal anodes reported so far have been prepared by electrodeposition of Li on current collectors, for which sacrificing cells are needed in the practical applications. In this work, Li foils are compressed with various carbons such as reduced graphite oxide (rGO), activated microwave exfoliated GO (aMEGO) and activated carbon (AC) by rolling press, resulting in C/Li composites for Li metal anodes. The electrochemical evaluations show that all the three composite anodes are cyclable for 1500 h at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² for a capacity of 10 mA h cm⁻². Specifically, the rGO/Li anode shows relatively lower overpotentials and more stable cycling performance than the other two. Characterizations indicate that the high pore volume and the moderate pore size of the rGO powder benefit the Li migration and the tolerance to volume change during Li plating/stripping, demonstrating a more stable electrode-electrolyte interface in the cycling. The study provides a potentially scalable and cost-effective strategy for the production of high-performance Li metal anodes.