Constructing Ultrafine Lithiophilic layer on MXene Paper by Sputtering for Stable and Flexible 3D Lithium Metal Anode

Abstract Lithium metal is the most attractive and promising anode for next-generation high energy batteries. However, uncontrollable dendrite growth of lithium remains a detrimental safety challenge. To tackle this problem, a 3D flexible MXene@Au host is designed by depositing an ultra-fine and robust Au layer on MXene paper via ion-sputtering. The Au layer acts as lithiophilic nuclear agent to ensure homogeneous lithium deposition and suppress the lithium dendrites growth. The as-prepared flexible 3D MXene@Au@Li anode shows significantly enhanced performance. Full lithium metal cell with LFP cathode delivers high capacity retention of 97.74% even after 200 cycles with good rate capability. These results may be useful for other metallic battery system and has potential applications in sensors, super-capacitor and catalyst etc.