Carbon cloth supported lithiophilic carbon nanotubes@Ag skeleton for lithium anode via ultrafast Joule heating method

Regulating lithium deposition and stripping behavior during cycles is critical for constructing high-performance and stable lithium metal anodes (LMAs). Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) flexible hierarchical carbon clothes/carbon nanotube (CC/CNTs) host decorated with uniform lithiophilic Ag nanoseeds is obtained via a facile ultrafast Joule heating (UJH) method. Benefiting from high conductivity and large space for Li storage, the as-prepared CC/CNTs@Ag-Li anode displays favorable cycling efficiency and long-life stability. Moreover, the planted Ag lithiophilic sites can efficiently alleviate the growth of lithium dendrites. The synergistic effect of 3D conductive CC/CNTs and Ag nanoseeds endows the skeleton to guide the uniform deposition of Li during the plating/stripping process. The full cells assembled with LiFePO 4 (LFP) cathode and CC/CNTs@Ag-Li anode present a high discharge capacity of 155.9 mA h g −1 at 0.1 C and a good capacity retention of 91.4% after 80 cycles at 1 C. The novel design strategy sheds new light on the synthesis of novel alkali metal anodes for energy storage. Graphical abstract