Improved Cycling Performance of Lithium–Oxygen Cells by Use of a Lithium Electrode Protected with Conductive Polymer and Aluminum Fluoride

Lithium–oxygen batteries have attracted great attention for advanced energy storage systems because of their high specific energy. The enhancement of the interfacial stability of lithium negative electrodes is one of the many technical challenges toward high safety and long life lithium–oxygen batteries due to their high reactivity toward organic electrolytes and the lithium dendrite growth during the repeated cycling. Herein, we demonstrate that the protective layer comprising conductive polymer and AlF 3 particles on lithium metal stabilized the lithium electrode by effectively reducing the reductive decomposition of the liquid electrolyte and suppressing the growth of lithium dendrite. As a result, the cycling performance of a lithium–oxygen cell assembled with a surface-modified lithium electrode was remarkably improved as compared to a cell with a pristine lithium electrode.