Three-Dimensional Carbon Foam Modified with Mg₃N₂ for Ultralong Cyclability of a Dendrite-Free Li Metal Anode

Uncontrolled growth of lithium dendrites and huge volume change during the lithium plating/stripping process as well as poor mechanical properties of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) are key obstacles to the development of a stable Li metal anode. Here, an ultralight Mg 3 N 2 -modified carbon foam (CF-Mg 3 N 2 ) was fabricated as a collector to address these issues. The calculated results show that the CF-Mg 3 N 2 composite is relatively stable in terms of energy. Based on the synergistic effect of the three-dimensional skeleton and the lithiophilic nature of Mg 3 N 2, homogeneous lithium deposition/stripping was realized around the foam carbon skeleton with an extremely low nucleation overpotential (∼9.3 mV) and high retention of Coulombic efficiency (99.3%) as well as long cyclability (700 cycles and 3000 h in half and symmetrical cells, respectively). Meanwhile, Mg 3 N 2 -CF@Li//LiFePO 4 full cells also showed better rate capability and more stable cycling capability than CF@Li//LiFePO 4 and Li//LiFePO 4 cells, exhibiting extreme practicality. Accordingly, the design concept mentioned in this work provides a far-reaching influence on the development of a stable Li metal anode.