ENERGY STORAGE

The practical application of lithium metal anodes has been hindered by dendrite formation attributed to inhomogeneous Li+ flux and limited Li+ transport kinetics through the SEIs. Our group developed a MgF2-engineered MOF incorporating fluorinated groups as an artificial SEI layer for LMAs, aiming to mitigate energy barriers associated with two potential rate-determining steps: desolvation and Li+ diffusion processes. Facilitating desolvation and Li+ transport kinetics led to stable cycling performance, attributed to dendrite-free Li deposition and low polarization. Understanding the mechanism and methodology behind this improvement can provide new insights for developing high-performance LMBs.

Layered vanadium-based compounds have also been extensively investigated because of their high theoretical capacity with multiple-electron redox reactions of V3+/V5+. Nevertheless, the narrow interlayer spacing and sluggish Zn-ion diffusion kinetics of vanadium-based compounds cause undesirably low reversible capacity and low cycling stability. Our group focuses on developing novel layered structure and verified its applicability as a cathode material in high-performance aqZIBs.