Highly Lithiophilic Graphdiyne Nanofilm on 3D Free-Standing Cu Nanowires for High-Energy-Density Electrodes.

ABSTRACT

The sp-hybridization carbon atoms in graphdiyne (GDY) are higher lithiophilic epicenters for lithium (Li) deposition than those of sp2-hybridized ones in traditional carbon materials. The ultrathin GDY nanofilms are constructed in situ on the 3D free-standing Cu nanowires (CuNWs) for improving the lithiophilicity of the surface efficiently. The CuNW electrode modified by GDY nanofilms (GDY@CuNW) shows significant improvements in terms of overpotential for lithium nucleation, battery lifespan, Coulombic efficiency, and suppression of dendritic lithium. The overall improvement of the free-standing electrode exhibits a volumetric capacity high up to 1333 mA h cm-3. Our results have demonstrated that controllable growth of GDY nanofilms should be an effective method to improve the Li plating and stripping process in the Li metal battery.