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The integrated approach of interfacial engineering and composite electrolytes is crucial for the market application of Li metal batteries (LMBs). A 22 μm thin-film type polymer/Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO) composite solid-state electrolyte (LPCE) was designed that combines fast ion conduction and stable interfacial evolution, enhancing lithium metal interface stability and cycling performance. The ether-based molecular coordination groups/clusters formed by triethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TGDE) and anions facilitated the movement of Li + between the polymer chain segments. These specific coordination clusters significantly "constrained" the interaction between anions and Li + , inducing the anions to follow the clusters to the Li metal and preferentially participate in solid electrolyte interface (SEI) derivatization. The inorganic salt-rich gradient SEI modulates Li + deposition and inhibits uncontrolled dendrite growth, achieving stable cycling of Li symmetric cell at 0.2 mA cm -2 for over 2000 h. Furthermore, the Li||NCM811 cell at a rate of 0.1 C exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 194.5 mAh g -1 , maintaining a capacity retention rate of over 90% after 500 cycles. This work demonstrates the importance of domain-limited ion clusters in ion transport and interfacial evolution, providing a perspective for solid-state LMBs.

Solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) show great promise in terms of high-energy-density and high-safety performance. However, there is an urgent need to address the compatibility of electrolytes with high-voltage cathodes/Li anodes, and to minimize the electrolyte thickness to achieve high-energy-density of SSLMBs. Herein, we develop an ultrathin (12.6 µm) asymmetric composite solid-state electrolyte with ultralight areal density (1.69 mg cm -2 ) for SSLMBs. The electrolyte combining a garnet (LLZO) layer and a metal organic framework (MOF) layer, which are fabricated on both sides of the polyethylene (PE) separator separately by tape casting. The PE separator endows the electrolyte with flexibility and excellent mechanical properties. The LLZO layer on the cathode side ensures high chemical stability at high voltage. The MOF layer on the anode side achieves a stable electric field and uniform Li flux, thus promoting uniform Li + deposition. Thanks to the well-designed structure, the Li symmetric battery exhibits an ultralong cycle life (5000 h), and high-voltage SSLMBs achieve stable cycle performance. The assembled pouch cells provided a gravimetric/volume energy density of 344.0 Wh kg -1 /773.1 Wh L -1 . This simple operation allows for large-scale preparation, and the design concept of ultrathin asymmetric structure also reveals the future development direction of SSLMBs., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Solid-state Li metal batteries (SSLMBs) are widely investigated since they possess promising energy density and high safety. However, the poor interfacial compatibility between the electrolyte and electrodes limits their promising development. Herein, a robust composite electrolyte (poly(vinyl ethylene carbonate) electrolyte with 3 wt % of BaTiO 3 , PVEC-3BTO) with excellent interfacial performance is rationally designed by incorporating ferroelectric BaTiO 3 (BTO) nanoparticles into the poly(vinyl ethylene carbonate) (PVEC) electrolyte matrix. Benefiting from the high dielectric constant and ferroelectric properties of BTO, the interfacial compatibility between electrolytes and electrodes was significantly improved. The enhanced Li + transference number (0.64) of solid electrolyte and in situ generated BaF 2 inorganic interphase contribute to the enhanced cycling stability of PVEC-3BTO based Li//Li symmetrical batteries. Furthermore, the antioxidation ability of PVEC-3BTO has also been enhanced by modulating the local electric field for good pairing with high-voltage LiCoO 2 material. Therefore, in this work, the mechanism of BTO for improving interfacial compatibility is revealed, and also useful methods for addressing the interface issues of SSLMBs have been provided.

Due to the high safety, flexibility, and excellent compatibility with lithium metals, composite solid-state electrolytes (CSEs) are the best candidates for next-generation lithium metal batteries, and the construction of fast and uniform Li + transport is a critical part of the development of CSEs. In this paper, a stable three-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF) network was obtained using polydopamine as a medium, and a high-performance CSE reinforced by the three-dimensional MOF network was constructed, which not only provides a continuous channel for Li + transport but also restricts large anions and releases more mobile Li + through a Lewis acid-base interaction. This strategy endows our CSEs with an ionic conductivity (7.1 × 10 -4 S cm -1 at 60 °C), a wide electrochemical window (5.0 V), and a higher Li + transfer number (0.54). At the same time, the lithium symmetric batteries can be stably cycled for 2000 h at 0.1 mA cm -2 , exhibiting excellent electrochemical stability. The LiFePO 4 /Li cells have a high initial discharge specific capacity of 153.9 mAh g -1 at 1C, with a capacity retention of 80% after 915 cycles. This paper proposes an approach for constructing three-dimensional MOF network-enhanced CSEs, which provides insights into the design and development of MOFs for the positive effects of high-performance CSEs.

Composite solid-state electrolyte (CSSE) with integrated strengths avoids the weaknesses of organic and inorganic electrolytes, and thus become a better choice for all-solid-state lithium battery (ASSLB). However, the poor dispersion of inorganic fillers and the organic/inorganic nature difference leads to their interface incompatibility, which greatly destroys the performance of CSSE and ASSLB. Herein, silane coupling agent (SCA) aminopropyl triethoxysilane (ATS) is introduced to tailor the organic/inorganic interfaces in CSSE by the common chemical bridging effect of SCA and the special amino effect (hydrogen bond and lone pair electron effects). It is found that the hydrogen bond interaction between -NH 2 and polyethylene oxide (PEO) enhances their interface interaction. And the lone pair electrons on nitrogen atom allow it to react with solvent acetonitrile and promote the uniform dispersion of ceramic fillers. Moreover, the lone pair electrons can complex with Li + , which promotes the dissociation of Li salts, uniforms Li + diffusion and inhibits the Li dendrite. Thanks to the above merits, the interface compatibility and stability of organic/inorganic CSSE are much enhanced by innovatively introducing ATS, showing high ionic conductivity and superior mechanical/thermal stability. The ASSLB with this modified CSSE exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with a reversible capacity of 140.9 mAh g -1 and a capacity retention of 94.4% after 280 cycles. These achievements offer a new insight into improving the stability of organic/inorganic CSSE interface and promoting their applicability into ASSLB., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A composite solid-state electrolyte (SSE) with acceptable safety and durability is considered as a potential candidate for high-performance lithium-oxygen (Li-O 2 ) batteries. Herein, to address the safety issues and improve the electrochemical performance of Li-O 2 batteries, a solvent-free composite SSE is prepared based on the thermal initiation of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate radical polymerization, and an integrated battery is achieved by injecting an electrolyte precursor between electrodes during the assembly process through a simple heat treatment. The Li-metal symmetric cells based on this composite SSE achieve a critical current density of 0.8 mA cm -2 and a stable cycle life of over 900 h at a current density of 0.2 mA cm -2 . This composite SSE effectively inhibits the erosion of O 2 on the Li metal anode, optimizes the interface between the electrolyte and cathode, and provides abundant reaction sites for the electrochemical reactions during cycling. The integrated solid-state Li-O 2 battery prepared in this work achieves stable long cycling (118 cycles) at a current density of 500 mA g -1 at room temperature, showing the promising future application prospects.

Most of the catalysts in lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries present low electronic conductivity and the lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) must diffuse onto the surface of the carbon materials to achieve their conversion reaction. It is a significant challenge to achieve the instantaneous transformation of LiPSs to Li 2 S in Li-S batteries to suppress the shuttle effect of LiPSs. Herein, a unique electron and ion co-conductive catalyst of carbon-coated Li 1.4 Al 0.4 Ti 1.6 (PO 4 ) 3 (C@LATP) is developed, which not only possesses strong adsorption to LiPSs, but, more importantly, also promotes the instantaneous conversion reaction of LiPSs to Li 2 S. The C@LATP nanoparticles as catalytic active sites can synchronously and efficiently provide both Li ions and electrons to facilitate the conversion reaction of LiPSs. The conversion reaction path of LiPSs using C@LATP changes from traditional "adsorption-diffusion-conversion" to novel "adsorption-conversion," which effectively lowers the decomposition barrier of Li 2 S 6 and promotes faster conversion of LiPSs. The shuttle effect of LiPSs is considerably suppressed and utilization of sulfur is greatly improved. The Li-S batteries using C@LATP present excellent rate, cycling, and self-discharge properties. This work highlights the significance of electron and ion co-conductive solid-state electrolytes for the instantaneous transformation of LiPSs in advanced Li-S batteries., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The room and low-temperature performances of solid-state lithium batteries are crucial to expand their practical application. Polyethylene oxide (PEO) has received great attention as the most representative polymer electrolyte matrix. However, most PEO-based solid-state batteries need to operate at high temperature due to low room temperature ionic conductivity. Improving the ionic conductivity by adding plasticizers or reducing the crystallinity of PEO often compromises its mechanical strength. Here, an amorphous PEO-based composite solid-state electrolyte is obtained by ultraviolet (UV) polymerizing PEO and methacryloyloxypropyltrimethoxy silane (KH570)-modified SiO 2 which demonstrates both satisfactory mechanical performance and high ionic conductivity at room (3.37 × 10 -4 S cm -1 ) and low temperatures (1.73 × 10 -4 S cm -1 at 0 °C). In this electrolyte, the crystallinity of PEO is reduced through cross-linking, and therefore provides a fast Li + ions transfer area. Moreover, the KH570-modified SiO 2 inorganic particles promote the dissociation of lithium salts by Lewis acid centers to increase the ionic conductivity. Importantly, this kind of cross-linking networks endows the final electrolyte much higher mechanical strength than the pure PEO polymer electrolyte or PEO-inorganic filler blended systems. The solid-state LiFePO 4 /Li cell assembled with this electrolyte exhibits excellent cycling performance and high capacity at room and low temperatures., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)