Facile and Scalable Modification of a Cu Current Collector toward Uniform Li Deposition of the Li Metal Anode

The development of lithium metal anodes has been severely impeded by the detrimental lithium (Li) dendrite growth which can largely shorten the lifespan of the battery. Here, we propose a one-step redox strategy to fabricate reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and Cu2O co-modified Cu current collector (rGO–Cu2O/Cu), which can guide the uniform Li ion nucleation and suppress the formation of the Li dendrite. The lithiophilic Cu2O in situ grown on the Cu substrate via direct chemical oxidation of Cu foil by the GO solution can decrease the Li nucleation overpotential and regulate the preferential nucleation of Li ions, while the rGO produced at the same time can facilitate the electron transport. As the consequence of the synergistic effects, rGO–Cu2O/Cu could be fully discharged with largely enhanced Coulombic efficiency of 98% and extended cycling life of the symmetrical cell up to 300 h. The full battery assembled with LiFePO4 also exhibits satisfying electrochemical performance, indicating the promising practical application of this Li-plated rGO–Cu2O/Cu anode. Furthermore, the processable rGO–Cu2O/Cu which can make Li metal anode moldable into various shapes with a controllable size will be favorable to manufacture diverse device architectures.