Recently, Professor Hao Sun's group at the Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in collaboration with Academician Huisheng Peng's team from the Institute of Fiber Electronic Materials and Devices, the Department of Polymer Science, and the Laboratory of Advanced Materials at Fudan University, proposed a "molecule–nanosheet–material" multilevel assembly strategy based on two-dimensional polyamide (2DPA). The related research findings were published in Nature Materials under the title "Molecular engineering of two-dimensional polyamide interphase layers for anode-free lithium metal batteries."

Article abstract:

Anode-free lithium (Li) metal batteries are promising candidates for high-performance energy storage applications. Nonetheless, their translation into practical applications has been hindered by the slow kinetics and reversibility of Li plating and stripping on copper foils. Here we report a two-dimensional polyamide (2DPA)/lithiated Nafion (LN) interphase layer for anode-free Li metal batteries. Through molecular engineering, we construct a 2DPA layer with a large conjugated structure and Li-ion adsorption groups that show efficient adsorption, distribution and nucleation of Li ions. 2DPA molecules assembled into two-dimensional sheets are further incorporated with LN to create an ultrathin interphase layer with high-rate, high-capacity Li plating/stripping. These 2DPA/LN layers have higher rate capabilities and maximal energy and power densities compared with alternative polymer interphase layers, enabling the fabrication of an anode-free pouch cell with high performance. Overall, our interphase engineering approach is a promising tool to push the translation of anode-free Li metal batteries based on two-dimensional polymer interphase layers into practical devices, and enable the fabrication of energy storage technologies with high energy and power densities.