Lithium‐Ion Batteries: Excellent Cycle Life of Lithium‐Metal Anodes in Lithium‐Ion Batteries with Mussel‐Inspired Polydopamine‐Coated Separators (Adv. Energy Mater. 6/2012)

Mussels provide a clever idea for extending the lifetime of lithium ion batteries! J.-K. Park, J. W. Choi, and co-workers were inspired by mussels, which show exceptionally strong adhesion on wet surfaces even under fierce wave action. On page 645, they coat polydopamine onto battery separators, and discover that this coating improves the wettability of the separators and facilitates the adhesion between the separators and electrodes, both of which enable a record-breaking cycle life of Li metal anodes.