Dendritic Li growth is a detrimental killer that threatens the safe operation and wide application of rechargeable Li-metal batteries (LMBs). Tuning the nucleation and growth behavior of Li plating process is, therefore, essential to tackle the dendrite growth problem. Here, we demonstrate a flaky and dense Li growth behavior simply by creating a nanoporous Cu layer on the surface of Li metal anode. High-resolution SEM and AFM measurements reveal that the Li deposits first nucleate as nanoflakes within the pores of Cu layer, then these flakes continuously grow thicker until they fuse together and eventually evolve into an ultra-smooth and dense Li layer. Such a unique Li growth behavior is derived from the nanoporous Cu surface layer, which triggers a synergistic regulation of the electrodeposition kinetics by providing a uniformly distributed electric field, sufficiently enhanced Li⁺ diffusion flux, and also appropriately regulated lithium nucleation kinetics. As a result, stable cycling of the Li|Li symmetric cell and Li metal full cells (Li|LTO/LFP/NCM) can be achieved under high current densities and high deposition capacities. These findings illustrate the feasibility to tailor the Li deposition microstructure, which help to create a highly reversible, nondendritic, and safer Li metal anode for LMB applications.

中文翻译：

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锂金属阳极上纳米孔铜表面层实现的片状致密锂沉积

树枝状锂的生长是有害的杀手，威胁可充电锂金属电池（LMB）的安全运行和广泛应用。因此，调整锂电镀工艺的成核和生长行为对于解决枝晶生长问题至关重要。在这里，我们仅通过在Li金属阳极的表面上形成纳米多孔Cu层即可证明片状和致密的Li生长行为。高分辨率SEM和AFM测量显示，Li沉积物首先以纳米薄片的形式成核，形成Cu层孔中，然后这些薄片不断变厚直到融合在一起，最终演变成超光滑且致密的Li层。这种独特的Li生长行为源自纳米多孔Cu表面层，⁺扩散通量，还可以适当调节锂成核动力学。结果，可以在高电流密度和高沉积容量下实现Li | Li对称电池和Li金属满电池（Li | LTO / LFP / NCM）的稳定循环。这些发现说明了定制Li沉积微结构的可行性，这有助于为LMB应用创建高度可逆，非枝晶且更安全的Li金属阳极。