Lithium interphase enhancement for applications in lithium–sulphur batteries

Stable lithium plating/stripping of metallic lithium anode is considered as the urgent challenge for the development of the post-lithium-ion batteries including lithium-sulfur and lithium-air batteries. In this work, we report a new facile and cost-effective method to grow a protective layer on the surface of lithium metal through immersing the lithium surface in a nitrogen-saturated solution that eliminates the operational restrictions of reported modification approaches in controlled atmosphere. N2-treated lithium shows prolonged cycling in symmetric configuration and chemical stability. We demonstrate that the treated Li anode notably enhances the cycling stability, coulombic efficiency as well as the rate capability of lithium-sulfur cells.